FTSE up; commodity gains outweigh defensive losses

* FTSE 100 up 0.3 percent

* Commodity stocks gain as metal, crude prices firm * RBS falls, divestments expected

By Simon Falush

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was up 0.3 percent early on Monday, as gains in commodity stocks outweighed slight weakness in defensives like pharmaceutical and tobacco stocks.

By 0912 GMT, Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 16.66 points at 5,061.21 having fallen 1.8 percent on Friday, notching up its largest weekly fall, at 3.8 percent, since March.

Commodity stocks were the biggest positive among UK large-caps, supported as copper MCU3=LX and crude prices CLc1 rose slightly helped by data from major commodities consumer, China.

HSBC's China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to an 18-month high in October of 55.4 from 55.0 in September, pointing to sustained strength in the country's fast-growing manufacturing sector. [ID:nBJC002380]

Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Lonmin (LMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Fresnillo (FRES.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 1.2 to 3.4 percent.