Britain's FTSE falls as mining stocks and HSBC lose ground

(ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UK stock 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 more details)

* Mining stocks fall on new set of weak Chinese data

* HSBC shares fall after initially opening higher

* FTSE 100 some 13 pct below April 2015 record high

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares index fell on Tuesday, weighed down by weaker mining stocks and data showing an unexpected fall in manufacturing output.

Early gains in the shares of HSBC also fizzled out and the blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.8 percent at 6,191.90 points.

The FTSE is down around 1 percent since the start of 2016 and about 13 percent below a record high reached in April 2015.

British manufacturing output fell in April, reaching a three-year low, according to a survey that suggested the economy is slowing before the country's referendum on whether to remain a member of the European Union.

Concerns about a slowdown in China, the world's second-largest economy and a leading consumer of commodities, have also hit world stock markets, and the prices of oil and metals.

Further evidence of weakness in China emerged on Tuesday, with a survey showing that activity at China's factories shrank for the 14th straight month in April as demand stagnated.

This impacted metals prices and in turn hit mining stocks, with Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) falling 7.4 percent while Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) and Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) declined more than 4 percent. .

Traders added that the weak backdrop in China was also weighing on HSBC, which was down 1 percent, given HSBC's presence in Hong Kong and China.

"There are still major headwinds in Asia for HSBC," said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments.

Kyri Kangellaris, director at Horizon Stockbroking, said he might be tempted to buy into the FTSE if it fell below 6,000 points, but added he was generally cautious over the near-term prospects for the market given the uncertain economic outlook.

"I would not want to buy in to the market around here," he said.

ADVISORY- Reuters plans to replace intra-day European and UK stock 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 format from 0600 London time through the 1630 closing bell, it will include the best of our market reporting, Stocks Buzz service, Eikon graphics, Reuters pictures, eye-catching research and market zeitgeist. Breaking news and dramatic market moves will continue to be alerted to all clients and we will continue to provide a short opening story and comprehensive closing reports.

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Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA.