UPDATE 1-Britain's FTSE lags European peers as miners weigh

* FTSE 100 up 0.63 pct

* European shares accelerate after ECB meeting

* Ex-dividend trading dents BHP Billiton and Persimmon

* Trade war worries hit metal prices(Adds closing prices)

MILAN, March 8 (Reuters) - The UK's top share index endedthe session in positive territory on Thursday but laggedEuropean peers as falling metal prices hit commodity stocks anda number of British blue chips traded without entitlement totheir latest dividend pay-outs.

The FTSE closed up 0.63 percent, well below thepan-European STOXX 600 which rose 1.07 percent, liftedby the European Central Bank's decision to drop its promise toincrease bond purchases if needed, a step towards stimulus exit.

The UK index is down 6.3 percent year to date while theSTOXX has limited its fall to 3.2 percent.

Many heavy losses were due to the fact that dividend paymentdates came through. Persimmon lost 3.6 percent, Evrazretreated 3.4 percent and BHP Billiton was down2.7 percent.

The basic materials sector also suffered on worries over thethreat of a global trade war curbing economic growth and metalsdemand.

Anglo American and Rio Tinto were down 2.9percent and 1.2 percent respectively as U.S. trade tensionsovershadowed strong February export data from the world's secondlargest economy, China.

"This morning's Chinese trade data are only likely toreinforce the U.S. administration's perception of unfair trade,"CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson said in a note.

Losses in mining stocks were offset by gains in drugmakersand consumer companies as investors sought refuge in defensivestocks before U.S. President Donald Trump details his tariffplans, expected on Thursday or Friday.

Pizza delivery firm Domino's Pizza rose 2.6 percentfollowing a better-than-expected 10.2 percent rise in its fullyear pretax profit.

AB Foods rose 0.7 percent following an upgrade to"buy" from Goldman Sachs on expectations a weak dollar wouldunderpin its profit recovery.

Soft drinks company Britvic rose 6.3 pct afterMorgan Stanley upgraded it to "overweight", saying the priceoffered an attractive entry point.

Aviva had a muted response (up 0.2 percent) from themarket after it reported its earnings and said it planned toreturn 500 million pounds to shareholders. KBW analystsdescribed the results as a "mixed bag".(Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Julien PonthusEditing by Andrew Roche)