By Simon Falush LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index ended 1.5 percent higher on Monday, lifted by gains in commodity stocks, which offset a dip in embattled banking stocks that were pressured by worries about Barclays' (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fundraising. The FTSE 100 .FTSE closed up 65.94 points at 4,443.28, its fifth consecutive day of gains, its longest run in the black since December 2007. The index gained 12.7 percent last week, its strongest week on record, fed by anticipation of a widely-expected interest rate cut from the Bank of England later this week, although it was down 10.7 percent in October. Miners were among the top performers on the FTSE 100 .FTSE as improved risk appetite saw investors buying into the heavily sold sector, even as metals prices dipped, with Kazkhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) the biggest gainer, surging 18.3 percent. "The general view for commodities is that maybe the stocks are oversold," said Peter Dixon, UK economist at Commerzbank. "There's still sufficient fat on corporate bottom lines to ensure they're still going to be in a fairly healthy position." Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 10.3 percent while Vedanta Resources (VED.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 7.3 percent. Lonmin (LMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 3.4 percent after the platinum producer advised unions of possible lay-offs due to a big drop in demand for the metal for car makers. Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 1.3 percent, after the company said its new ilmenite project is on track to produce and the company sees most of its projects in a strong position to weather any economic scenario. BANKS MIXED Banks were mixed, but sentiment was weighed as Barclays dropped 4.1 percent to a 12-year low on concern that its $11.4 billion capital fundraising is too expensive. Analysts at Merrill Lynch estimated the fundraising may cost investors 3.2 billion pounds. Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the British bank in the process of buying rival HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), was flat after it said its profits for the first nine months of the year fell sharply as a result of financial market turmoil and rising bad debts. HBOS climbed 6.1 percent after the Sunday Times newspaper said Lloyds TSB could face competition for its bid from HBOS's Internet banking unit. HBSC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 0.7 percent while Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 3.4 and 1.1 percent respectively. Among other decliners were index-heavyweights Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). The world's biggest mobile phone firm fell 2.2 percent after a source familiar with the situation told Reuters that it was calling analysts to collate consensus numbers ahead of its next set of results after traders cited a rumour that it was guiding lower. Energy firms recorded gains in the face of weaker crude prices CLc1, with BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 0.2 and 2.9 percent respectively, while Cairn Energy (CNE.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 3.4 percent. Europe's biggest home improvement retailer Kingfisher (KGF.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was among the top gainers, up 7 percent. The company's chief executive Ian Cheshire told Reuters on Sunday that he sees no growth in the UK market over the next year, but he believes that it can grab market share from distressed rivals. Defensive pharmaceuticals stocks, which tend to benefit at times of risk aversion, added most points to the index. AstraZeneca (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 2.8 percent while GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 4.4 percent. (Editing by Hans Peters)

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