Britain's FTSE rises as housebuilders, miners rally

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* FTSE 100 up 0.3 pct

* Housebuilders extend gains

* Miners track metals prices higher

* Hays falls after results

By Kit Rees

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - UK shares rose on Thursday,starting September in positive territory as housebuildersrallied and mining stocks rose on recovering metals prices.

The blue chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at6,799.70 points by 0903 GMT, slightly underperforming thebroader European market.

Housebuilders Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon,Barratt Developments and Berkeley Group, whichis set to lose its place in the FTSE 100, extended their rallyfrom the previous session, gaining between 3 percent and 3.7percent respectively. Data on Wednesday had shown British houseprices rose more than expected in August.

"There's maybe a general sense that, at least in theshort-term, the referendum vote's note having any catastrophiceffect on the UK economy," Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMCMarkets, said.

"Given these homebuilding shares have dropped in the regionof 20 percent, after the vote, I think there's a bit of areassessment as to whether that's really justified."

Upbeat factory data also helped, with a PMI survey showingBritish manufacturing staged one of its sharpest rebounds onrecord in August, recovering from the initial shock of Britain'sJune 23 vote to leave the European Union.

The FTSE 100 posted its third straight month of gains inAugust, as sterling weakness following Britain's Brexit voteprompted investors to buy into the index'sinternationally-facing companies.

Mining companies rebounded after two sessionsof losses, as metals prices hit 2016 peaks on upbeatmanufacturing data from China, the world's biggest consumer ofmetals.

Miners Glencore, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta all rose between 0.8 percent to 2.4 percent.

Britain's banks also rose, led by Asia-exposed HSBC which gained 2.4 percent.

Hikma and St James's Place were the topfallers after the stocks traded without entitlement to theirlatest dividend payouts.

Outside of the blue chips, mid cap recruiter Hays dropped 4.3 percent after reporting results. It said that hiringin Britain had weakened significantly shortly after the Brexitvote as private sector clients were hesitant to add new workers.

"The run-up to the EU referendum had an impact on (Hays')figures, with net fees in the UK flat as increased concern overthe economic outlook hit client and candidate confidence,especially in the second half," AJ Bell investment director RussMould said in a note. (Editing by Catherine Evans)