Associated British Foods helps Britain's FTSE to rebound

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index bounced back in early trading on Thursday, with Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF.L - news) leading the market higher after an encouraging update, while energy shares mirrored gains in crude oil prices.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Associated British Foods rose 5.5 percent, the top gainer in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, after saying it was sticking to plans to expand its Primark clothing chain across Europe and the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) ., and was optimistic about continued growth despite uncertainty created by Brexit.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index, dominated by internationally exposed companies, was up 1.3 percent by 0719 GMT after closing lower in the previous session. Britain's domestically-focused FTSE 250 index was up 1.1 percent.

UK banks were up about 2 percent, rebounding from losses earlier in the week.

Despite a sharp sell-off after the Brexit vote, the FTSE 100 is up about 3 percent since its close on June 23. However, it is down 10 percent in dollar terms as the slump in sterling to a 31-year low has reduced the dollar value of the market. In contrast, the FTSE 250 is down 8.5 percent in sterling terms.

Energy shares tracked crude oil prices higher. The UK oil and gas index was up 1.3 percent, helped by a rise of more than 1 percent in shares of BP and Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) .

Stock markets also got some support from the minutes for the June 14-15 meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve late on Wednesday showing the Fed's policymakers decided interest rate hikes should stay on hold until the consequences of Britain's EU referendum became clearer. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)