London equities moved higher in opening trade on Wednesday as investors gave a warm reaction to Cairn Energy's plans to float its Indian business.

The FTSE 100 started the session 0.2 per cent higher at 6,138.3, a rise of about 10 points, with the FTSE 250 also up 0.2 per cent at 10,394.1.

Overnight in New York, US indices were little changed as investors were caught between data showing falling consumer confidence on the one hand and robust corporate newsflow.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended about 6 points lower at 12,080.7, a fall of about 0.1 per cent.

Back in London, Cairn Energy unveiled plans to raise about $1.8bn from the floatation of its Indian business. Shares in the company rose 1.8 per cent to £17.84.

Mining companies moved back to the forefront of the leaderboard, tracking firmer commodities prices and rises on Asian equities indices for the sector.

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP - news) was 1.1 per cent higher at £10.23 and Xstrata rose £22.65. Rio Tinto was 0.9 per cent stronger at £29.19 with Vedanta Resources up 0.3 per cent at £14.66.

On the downside, Tate & Lyle came off a sustained strong run, falling 1 per cent to 779.9p as investors booked profits after its interim profits met expectations.

Among the mid-caps, beleaguered tour operator MyTravel rose 0.3 per cent to 188½p after it confirmed its expectations to return to profit this year despite a 9.5 per cent fall in winter holiday bookings.

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