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

* FTSE 100 falls 0.9 percent

* 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 (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)

By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Alistair Smout

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares index fell on Tuesday, weighed down by weakness in the mining sector after poor data, with financial stocks also hit by a fall in HSBC following results.

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The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 56.30 points, or 0.9 percent, at 6,171.04 points. The index is about 13 percent below a record high reached in April 2015.

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 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 12.8 percent while Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) and Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) declined 6 and 8 percent respectively..

Oil prices also fell, hitting energy shares, on renewed signs of market oversupply due to output from Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In all, materials and energy shares trimmed 36 points off the index.

Financials knocked 22.4 points off the index, with HSBC ending up as the biggest weight in the sector. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) turned lower after gains at the open and was down 1.6 percent.

The bank promised higher dividends on Tuesday after a 14 percent profit drop fuelled doubts among some investors about the bank's ability to continue growing payouts.

While the results were a little ahead of expectations, traders added that the weak backdrop in China was also weighing on HSBC, given HSBC's presence in Hong Kong and China, as well as concerns over the dividend.

"It's tough out there for banks, and HSBC is no exception, particularly seeing as it is increasingly focusing its business on Asia, which is a weak market right now, said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown (LSE: HL.L - news) .

"HSBC declared an unchanged dividend of 10 cents, which was twice covered by earnings over the quarter. Investors are clearly concerned on this front though, because a 7.5 percent yield on the stock suggests the market is sceptical the dividend can be maintained."

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

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.

If you have any thoughts, suggestions or feedback on this, please email mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com.

Mike Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)