London open: Stocks edge higher early on

UK stocks edged higher on Thursday morning, snapping a four-day losing streak, despite some weakness in the heavyweight mining sector.Things were pretty busy on the corporate news front today, with a host of companies on the FTSE 100 releasing trading updates and reports, giving investors plenty to digest early on.Concerns over the global economy have hit markets over the past week following disappointing growth figures from China and downwards revisions to worldwide gross domestic product forecasts from the International Monetary Fund.Theres fears were compounded yesterday after Jens Weidmann, the head of Germany's Bundesbank, told The Wall Street Journal that the recovery in Europe could take as long as a decade to overcome.However, he did leave the door open to the possibility that the European Central Bank would cut rates if required, but warned that such a move would be unlikely to turn the Eurozone's dire economy around and urged government authorities to take action. FTSE 100: Fresnillo gains early onMining stocks were under pressure this morning with ENRC, Randgold, Antofagasta and Polymetal among the worst performers. However, precious metals group Fresnillo was bucking the trend after saying that it will review all expenditure and exploration projects after the recent sharp falls in gold and silver prices. The company said that silver production had increased in the first quarter, but gold production fell. Sector peer EVRAZ was more or less flat after saying that production volumes of steel, coking coal, iron ore and vanadium all increased during the first three months of the year, though the year-on-year difference was mixed.BHP Billiton was also unchanged after saying that incoming Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie will receive a $1.7m salary when he joins the company in May.Engineering firm GKN was a high riser after saying that it acquisition of Volvo Aero last year helped boost sales by 9.0% in the first quarter of 2013.Drinks giant SABMiller was in the red after despite reporting a 3.0% increase in organic lager volumes in the year to March 31st. Sector peer Diageo also failed to impress after saying it remained on track to hit full-year targets following a robust third quarter.Consumer packaging firm Rexam fell after saying that can volume growth had been slower than predicted towards the end of the first quarter. Overall, the firm said that results were in line with forecasts.DIY retailer Kingfisher was subdued after saying that it has acquired 15 'Brincostore' retail outlets in Romania from a French retail company for an undisclosed sum.Engineering giant Weir Group fell after revealing that it is expanding its presence in the mining and minerals markets through a number of agreements for crushing, grinding and screening equipment and services.FTSE 100 - RisersGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,656.00p +3.05%GKN (GKN) 252.50p +2.77%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,101.00p +2.51%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,002.00p +1.98%ARM Holdings (ARM) 879.50p +1.32%BG Group (BG.) 1,048.00p +1.01%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,289.00p +0.86%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,875.00p +0.86%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,323.50p +0.79%Anglo American (AAL) 1,565.00p +0.77%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 229.90p -4.29%Antofagasta (ANTO) 885.50p -2.26%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,482.00p -1.84%Compass Group (CPG) 814.50p -1.57%Diageo (DGE) 1,943.50p -1.57%Unilever (ULVR) 2,722.00p -1.38%easyJet (EZJ) 1,127.00p -1.14%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 280.00p -1.13%SABMiller (SAB) 3,311.00p -0.94%ITV (ITV) 123.40p -0.88%FTSE 250 - RisersDebenhams (DEB) 86.50p +7.45%Petropavlovsk (POG) 140.50p +3.46%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 167.80p +3.39%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 174.70p +2.58%SVG Capital (SVI) 376.30p +2.03%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 12.04 +2.03%National Express Group (NEX) 194.80p +1.99%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,681.00p +1.97%Anite (AIE) 115.20p +1.95%Lonmin (LMI) 264.20p +1.85%FTSE 250 - FallersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 172.70p -7.65%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 36.40p -3.42%Ladbrokes (LAD) 182.80p -3.28%NMC Health (NMC) 317.90p -2.48%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 313.60p -2.03%Devro (DVO) 329.70p -1.76%CSR (CSR) 481.60p -1.45%Greene King (GNK) 663.00p -1.27%Marston's (MARS) 132.90p -1.19%EnQuest (ENQ) 123.10p -1.12%BC