(ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UKstock market reports with a Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets for site in development. See the bottom of the report for moredetails)
* FTSE 100 up 0.8 pct, snaps losing streak
* Berkeley leads housebuilders lower
* Jimmy Choo soars on update
* Aveva slumps after deal talks end
By Kit Rees
LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - British shares rose onWednesday, coming off four straight sessions of losses asinvestors remained focused on a looming European Unionmembership vote.
Shares in housebuilder Berkeley slipped 2 percent,dragging its competitors lower, after the firm reported a 20percent drop in reservations of new homes at the start of theyear.
Fellow housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and BarrattDevelopments were also down 1.1 percent and 0.7 percentrespectively.
"The focus of the bears has so far been on concernssurrounding high end London, however an exit of Europe is likelyto impact the wider UK housing market," analysts at Jefferiessaid in a note.
Betting odds from Betfair indicated that the impliedprobability of a British vote to stay in the European Union was62 percent, having falling on Tuesday to around 55 percent.
Among the risers, mining stocks gained 2.4percent after the price of copper gained ahead of the U.S.Federal Reserve's policy meeting, at which it is expected toleave interest rates unchanged.
The FTSE 100 index was up 0.8 percent at 5,969.11points by 0751 GMT, in line with the broader European market.
"A lot of the money seems to be going into the recentunderperformers ... but getting closer and closer to thereferendum, any upside could be fairly short-lived and we doanticipate a further increase in volatility over the next fewdays or so," Manoj Ladwa, head of trading at TJM Partners, said.
Outside of the blue chips, mid-cap Jimmy Choo soared over 15 percent following a well-received update.
"Today's Q1 update suggests that the Jimmy Choo brand isshowing resilience in a difficult market," Tom Gadsby, analystat Liberum, said in a note. Liberum upgraded their rating to"buy" from "hold" on the stock.
Software maker Aveva Group, however, slumped 14.3percent after ending preliminary deal talks with SchneiderElectric. ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UKstock market reports with a Live Markets blog on Eikon (see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets for site in development). In a real-time, multimedia formatfrom 0600 London time through the 1630 closing bell, it willinclude the best of our market reporting, Stocks Buzz service,Eikon graphics, Reuters pictures, eye-catching research andmarket zeitgeist. Breaking news and dramatic market moves willcontinue to be alerted to all clients and we will continue toprovide a short opening story and comprehensive closing reports.
If you have any thoughts, suggestions orfeedback on this, please email mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com.
Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Barratt Developments (BDEV)
Taylor Wimpey (TW.)