London open: Shares win back some losses

The top share index has made a modest recovery following yesterday's slide, with mining stocks setting the pace.Higher commodity prices are boosting the likes of South American copper miner Antofagasta and South African platinum miner Lonmin.The banking sector is under pressure though, with Moody's considering downgrading Lloyds Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland and 12 others. The ratings agency is worried that credit risk may increase after the withdrawal of government support.In company news, high street stalwart Marks & Spencer eases even after it said it was winning market share in both clothes and food sales as it posted pre-tax profits in line with expectations for the year to 31 March. Underlying pre-tax profits totalled £714.3m, up from £694.6m the previous year. Revenue rose to £9.7bn from £9.5bn.The UK economy is recovering, albeit slowly, if the experience of self-storage company Big Yellow, another faller today, is anything to go by, but the company is still waiting for the pace of recovery to change gear. Revenue in the 12 months to 31 March rose 7% to £61.9m from £58.0m the prior year. Adjusted profit before tax surged 22% to £20.2m from £16.5m a year earlier.Cable & Wireless Worldwide is posting big gains after it said it saw underlying profit before tax jump 23% to £143m in the year to 31 March from £116m the year before. The board said it intends to hold the annual dividend at 4.5p until it is covered by free cash flow.The buy-to-let mortgage lender Paragon is in demand after posting a sharp rise in profits, helped by an upturn in tenant demand in the private rented sector.Plastics group Victrex, which serves transport, electronics and other markets, hailed a recovery in all its main areas as it posted a rise in revenues and profits.Shares in EMED Mining soared after it said it received formal approval from the Andalucian government to restart its Rio Tinto copper mine.FTSE 100 - RisersAntofagasta (ANTO) 1,197.00p +3.19%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,237.00p +2.49%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 832.50p +2.08%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,329.00p +2.07%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,108.00p +1.86%Xstrata (XTA) 1,382.50p +1.84%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,344.50p +1.76%Anglo American (AAL) 2,876.00p +1.61%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 309.00p +1.61%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,087.00p +1.56%FTSE 100 - FallersMarks & Spencer Group (MKS) 392.00p -1.26%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 50.35p -1.02%John Wood Group (WG.) 620.00p -0.80%Barclays (BARC) 266.15p -0.78%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,073.00p -0.46%Pearson (PSON) 1,133.00p -0.44%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 234.00p -0.43%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,874.00p -0.43%Aviva (AV.) 421.70p -0.38%Amec (AMEC) 1,142.00p -0.35%FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 52.30p +5.32%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 197.10p +4.73%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 529.00p +4.34%Pace (PIC) 101.90p +3.77%Victrex (VCT) 1,442.00p +2.93%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,800.00p +2.68%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 124.60p +2.64%Mitie Group (MTO) 226.00p +2.54%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 477.60p +2.51%Cookson Group (CKSN) 674.00p +2.43%FTSE 250 - FallersFirstGroup (FGP) 342.20p -2.00%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 339.80p -1.34%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 19.65p -1.31%Unite Group (UTG) 210.10p -1.13%Inchcape (INCH) 376.90p -0.79%Home Retail Group (HOME) 205.80p -0.68%Informa (INF) 423.50p -0.66%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 846.00p -0.65%Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 417.50p -0.57%Grainger (GRI) 126.00p -0.55%