Fashion house Burberry saw its shares plunge as it revealed falling sales amid a slide in demand for luxury goods sparked by the economic slowdown in China.
Shares in the trench coat maker dropped by as much as 12 per cent as it said trading worsened in its second quarter, with like-for-like retail sales falling by four per cent in the three months to the end of September as Chinese shoppers reined in their spending.
But the wider FTSE 100 Index broke a recent losing streak, rising 69.1 points to 6338.7, helped by miners and strong gains from consumer goods giant Unilever after a bullish update.
France's Cac 40 and Germany's DAX were both up by around 1.5 per cent.
In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 80 points in early trading.
The pound was little changed against the US dollar at just under 1.55, even as official data showed that US consumer prices fell 0.2% in September, amid mounting expectations that the US Federal Reserve will be forced to wait until well into 2016 before hiking interest rates.
Sterling was higher against the euro at just under 1.36.
Burberry was the biggest faller in the top flight, down more than eight per cent even though annual profits are going to be "broadly" in line with recently slashed analyst forecasts. Shares fell 117p to 1302p.
Market expectations for earnings have been cut from £462 million to £445 million since July.
Investors appeared unconvinced by assurances from Burberry boss Christopher Bailey that it was cutting costs in response to the sales slowdown and that trading was expected to pick up over its second half thanks to the key Christmas season.
Among risers, Dove-to-Lipton Ice Tea firm Unilever was ahead by more than three per cent after it said a strong summer for ice cream sales helped boost turnover by 9.4 per cent to around £9.9 billion in the third quarter in spite of shaky consumer confidence.
Unilever shares lifted 100p at 2890p.
Miners such as Glencore followed close behind, up 2.3p to 117.8p.
Magazines and stationery retailer WH Smith rose almost five per cent, or 73p to 1614p, in the FTSE 250 after it posted an eight per cent lift in annual pre-tax profits to £121 million as a 10 per cent hike in earnings in its travel business and cost savings helped offset falling sales at its high street chain.
However, WH Smith joined other retailers in highlighting the impact of the new national living wage, as it said it would cost the group between £2m and £3m extra a year, with a hit of more than £1m expected in the current financial year.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Hargreaves Lansdown up 70p at 1400p, ARM Holdings up 46.5p at 979.5p, London Stock Exchange 100p at 2475p and Unilever up 100p at 2890p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Burberry down 117p at 1302p, Sports Direct International down 24.5p at 650.5p, Glencore down 2.3p at 117.8p and Ashtead Group down 14.5p at 964.5p.
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