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* FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%

Dec 27 (Reuters) - The UK shares opened higher on Wednesday, led by a rise in mining firms, while investors latched on to the year-end optimism driven by expectations that major central banks could begin cutting interest rates in the upcoming year.

Precious metal miners gained 1%, mainly supported by expectations of interest rate cuts in the U.S. next year.

Industrial metal miners led sectoral gains, adding 1.1% as prices of most base metals rose after improved data from top consumer China, and a weaker U.S. dollar.

Anglo American shares climbed 2.8% to the top of the FTSE 100 index on a report that the miner was looking to sell shares in a $9 billion UK mining project.

Darktrace was up 2% on news that Michael Lynch had disclosed a 3.92% stake in the cyber-security company.

(Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)