Commodity, banking stocks push FTSE 100 higher

(Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip index rose on Monday, boosted by economically sensitive commodity and banking stocks after upbeat U.S. and Chinese economic data eased worries about a recession.

The FTSE 100 gained 0.6% and was hovering near its two-month high by 0711 GMT, while the domestically focussed midcap index added 0.3%.

Oil majors Shell and BP rose more than 1%, as crude prices bounced following strong U.S. jobs data and Chinese exports numbers that picked up unexpectedly in July. [O/R]

Global miners Glencore and Anglo American were also up 1%, tracking stronger metal and iron ore prices, while rate-sensitive banks also climbed.[IRONORE/] [MET/L]

Among other stocks, PageGroup Plc slipped 0.3% even as the global recruiter reported a 79.3% jump in half-year operating profit.

Joules Group soared 24.2% after the fashion group said it was in talks over a potential equity investment of about 15 million pounds ($18.11 million) from retailer Next Plc.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)