- UK stocks opened stronger on Wednesday, buoyed by miners and news that insurer Prudential would spin off its European assets.

At 0859, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 18.03 points, or 0.3%, at 7,156.81.

Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto led the mining sector higher, with gains of 1.5%-to-2.8%.

Prudential jumped 5.6% after posting a 45% rise in annual pre-tax profit and announcing that it would hive off its UK and European wealth business into a separately-listed company.

Morrisons fell 1.6% after the grocery retailer boosted its annual profit and paid a special dividend, but underwhelmed investors hoping for more.

InterContinental Hotels, meanwhile, agreed to acquire in a JV with Formosa International a 51% stake in Regent Hotels and Resorts for $39m. Its shares eased back 0.1%.

Construction group Balfour Beatty gained 2.2% after more selective job selection helped margins and profits improve.

Automotive retailer Marshall Motor gained 4.2% as its annual profit more than doubled, despite it recording lower like-for-like new and used car unit sales.

Pharmaceuticals company Hikma rallied 12% as investors looked past a fall in profit and focused on a rising dividend and recovering revenue growth.

Landscape products group Marshalls declared a supplementary dividend after rising revenue, buoyed by an acquisition, drove a 13% increase in annual profit. Its shares gained 0.3%.

Payments technology company SafeCharge International fell 3.7% after it trimmed its final dividend on a fall in annual profit amid a rise in expenses.

Online gambling group SportTech tumbled 56% after delivering a litany of bad news. The company said it had terminated a formal sale process, having failed to attract adequate bids, downgraded its profit guidance for 2017 on write-downs and accounting errors, and said it had experienced a 'fairly challenging' start to 2018.

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