European stocks add to gains, propelled by commods

PARIS, Aug 20 (Reuters) - European stocks added to gains in late trading on Wednesday, propelled by rallying heavyweight energy and mining stocks, while recently-battered banking shares trimmed their losses. At 1502 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,165.90 points.

Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 5.7 percent, Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 2.6 percent, while HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 0.7 percent and UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) added 2 percent. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson)