Miners lead Britain's FTSE higher, outweighing "Brexit" fears

* FTSE 100 up 1 pct

* PM strikes deal with EU leaders, referendum date set

* Miners, Coca Cola (NYSE: KO - news) gain

* HSBC slumps after weak results

* Home Retail (Other OTC: HMRLF - news) soars on bidding war

By Kit Rees

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - UK shares advanced on Monday as mining shares took heart from strengthening metals prices, outweighing worries about Britain's potential exit from the European Union.

Banking heavyweight HSBC was the top faller after reporting weak results and confirming that it was under investigation by U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . regulators in relation to its hiring practices of people tied to government officials in Asia.

But Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 1 percent to 6,011.66 points in early deals and the FTSE 350 Mining index hit its highest level since November 2015, gaining more than 4 percent with Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) , BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) , Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) , Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) and Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO.L - news) up between 4.3 percent and 6 percent.

The price of copper reached a two-week high following the resignation of the head of China's securities regulator and an uptick in the country's steel industry which sparked hope for a revival in metals demand.

Investment bank Jefferies raised its target price on Anglo American, which has gained over 50 percent this year, but retained its 'underperform' rating on the stock.

"The risk to the AAL share price is to the downside in the near term, especially after the recent rally. Asset sales and cost cutting in line with aggressive guidance would be clear long-term positives but will be difficult to achieve in our view," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.

That was all enough to outweigh uncertainties over the impact of Britain's vote on its membership of the European Union, set for June 23 after British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed a new deal with EU leaders on Saturday.

"If there is a British exit, the feeling could be that David Cameron's gamble ... is very risky," analysts at Natixis (LSE: 0IHK.L - news) said in a note.

Soft drinks bottling company Coca Cola HBS benefited from broker upgrades, rising over 4 percent.

Among mid-caps, Argos owner Home Retail soared over 12 percent, touching its highest level since July 2015, after South African furniture retailer Steinhoff International made a rival offer to buy the company.

Earlier this month, Home Retail agreed to be bought by grocer Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's, which fell 1.9 percent.

At the bottom of the FTSE 100 index, HSBC dropped 4 percent after an underwhelming set of results for 2015, with profit before tax at $18.87 billion, little changed on the year before and well below an average analysts' estimate of $21.8 billion, according to Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) data, dragged down by an unexpected $858 million loss in the fourth quarter. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Andrew Heavens)