THE London market was kept afloat by mining firms yesterday after the owner of Currys and PC World issued a profits warning triggering declines among retailers.

FTSE 250 firm Dixons Retail saw shares plunge 18 per cent as it revealed sales declines in the UK and Ireland worsened to 11 per cent since Christmas and said it was considering pulling out of Spain.

The warning hit firms across the sector, although the FTSE 100 Index closed 16 points up at 5948.3.

Dixons shone the spotlight on the troubled high street sector after its profit alert shocked the market, coming only two months after it last lowered expectations.

Its shares fell 3p to 13.7p, while rival and Comet parent Kesa Electricals fell 7p to 124p.

Fellow FTSE 250 stock Home Retail Group, which owns Argos and Homebase, followed it with a 8.5p drop to 192.9p.

In the top tier, Marks & Spencer was the biggest faller with a 10.6p drop to 340.7p, while Next dropped 54p to 2011p.

However, luxury group Burberry bucked the trend as it continued to benefit from a broker note citing it as a takeover target. Shares were ahead 23p at 1185p.

The mining sector was up after Rio Tinto increased its stake in bid target Riversdale to 41 per cent. Rio, which is seeking enough shareholder support for its $3.9 bn (£2.4bn) bid, saw shares rise 44p to 4410p, while Vedanta Resources was ahead 76p at 2314p and BHP Billiton advanced 34.5p to 2449p.

British gas parent Centrica saw shares lift 8.1p to 330.7p after it signed a $3.3m (£2m) contract with Aberdeen’s Plexus Holding for the supply of equipment for five North sea exploration wells.

Domino’s Pizza revealed growth in same-store sales in the UK over the 13 weeks to March 27 were offset by poor sales in Ireland.

Shares fell four per cent or 18.8p to 427.2p.