* FTSE 100 up 1.1 percent
* G4S, Wood Group gain after results
* ARM up on bid talk
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Britain's top shares rose on Tuesday, helped by miners on firmer metals prices buoyed by Chinese PMI data, while hopes of further stimulus from the U.S. central bank also encouraged investors back into the market after recent hefty falls.
Mining stocks found favour as investors took some heart from HSBC's China Flash purchasing managers' index.
The data, while showing China's factory sector was likely to slow slightly for a second consecutive month in August, indicated the world's number two economy was still growing robustly.
"The (Chinese data) seems to have been used as an excuse really to take all markets higher. This is a question of bargain hunting -- that number has helped support the market... it certainly was looking oversold," David Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global, said.
The FTSE 100 index had risen 56.17 points, or 1.1 percent, to 5,151.47 by 1115 GMT, continuing its ascent after a rout sparked by global growth concerns sent the index down 5.2 percent last week.
Strategists and traders also noted a growing view that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might hint at additional stimulus measures at a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.
"The market does believe it's going to happen... but if QE3 isn't on the agenda, I think the market's going to come off, and re-test the recent lows again," Yusuf Heusen, senior sales trader at IG Index, said.
Buyers came in for the banks, bolstered by upbeat broker comment after a drop of almost 20 percent on the FTSE 350 Banks Index over the course of August.
"We see value in the UK banks overall, although we are mindful of the multiple risks currently facing the sector, most notably related to sovereign debt, economic growth, funding conditions and UK regulation," Goldman Sachs said in a note.
The broker said it prefers HSBC , up 1.3 percent, and Lloyds Banking Group , 4.6 percent firmer, among the UK banks.
Nomura, meanwhile, said it remained bullish on European banks.
M&A and earnings newsflow also helped lift investor sentiment. ARM Holdings was among the top FTSE 100 risers, up 5.2 percent, as traders revived talk about the chip designer's appeal as a bid target.
And midcap Charter International jumped 22.2 percent after the industrial tools maker said it has received a rival bid approach, having rejected two previous bids from manufacturing buyout firm Melrose .
G4S topped the FTSE 100 leader board, up 7.1 percent, as the security services firm's solid first-half results and outlook prompted Espirito Santo Investment Bank to repeat its "buy" rating on the stock.
And John Wood Group gained 4.7 percent as the energy services firm accompanied first-half results with an upbeat full-year outlook, prompting Numis Securities to upgrade its rating for the stock to "buy" from "add".
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