Britain's FTSE stumbles as Wolseley wobbles

(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)

* FTSE 100 down 0.2 pct

* Wolseley (LSE: WOS.L - news) falls after results

* Brexit worries weigh on housebuilders

* Miners track metals prices lower

By Kit Rees

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - UK equities fell on Wednesday, weighed down by a drop in Wolseley's shares after a disappointing set of results and also a fall in British housebuilders.

Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 percent at 6,215.95 points by 0812 GMT, in line with the broader European market.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in British heating and products supplier Wolseley (EUREX: WLYH.EX - news) were set for their biggest daily loss in 8 months, dropping 6.1 percent after the company reported a slowdown in revenue growth for the third quarter, reflecting subdued demand in some markets.

The firm said that, as a result, it would accelerate its restructuring in Britain and Europe.

"Investors here are focusing on the short term slowdown for demand that the company reported in this morning's update, rather than the overall progress that's being made despite the deflationary headwinds," Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, said in a note.

British housebuilders were also in negative territory, with analysts citing Tuesday's ICM poll which indicated that British voters were leaning towards a vote to leave the European Union in a June 23 referedum.

Shares in Persimmon (Other OTC: PSMMY - news) , Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV.L - news) and Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW.L - news) fell between 2 percent to 2.5 percent.

"In the sense that there's this perceived risk that house prices could come down if Britain votes to leave...that's going to be putting pressure on the housebuilders for sure," Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets, said.

Metals prices were hit by a strong dollar following raised prospects of a U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . interest rate hike, with a lower copper price putting pressure on the mining sector, which was down 1.8 percent, the top sectoral faller on the blue-chip index.

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. (Reporting by Kit Rees)