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Updated at 1540 GMT

By Khushi Singh and Ankika Biswas

Aug 29 (Reuters) -The UK's main stock index edged higher on Thursday, led by gains in the travel and mining sectors, while shares trading ex-dividend weighed on real estate and beverages.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE was up 0.4%, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC dipped 0.2%, registering its third straight session of declines.

Media .FTNMX403010 was the best performing index with a 1.4% rise, while the travel and leisure .FTNMX405010 index followed with a 1.1% gain as Whitbread WTB.L shares rose 3.7% after Bernsteinupgraded the hotel group's stock.

Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 climbed 1.1% on higher gold prices, fuelled by strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September. GOL/

Real estate investment trusts .FTNMX351020 led sectoral declines, falling 1.9%, as LondonMetric Property LMPL.L dropped 3.5%, trading ex-dividend.

Spirits maker Diageo DGE.L also fell 1.2% as it traded ex-dividend.

Meanwhile, expected UK economic growth and predictions that the Bank of England will keep interest rates high for longer than in the U.S. have lifted the British pound, making it vulnerable if monetary policy forecasts change.

Among individual stocks, CAB Payments CABP.L gained 4.8% after the money transfer groupcollaborated with Visa V.N over cross-border payments.

CentricaCNA.L rose 1.5%after Jefferies upgraded the energy supplier's stock to "buy" from "hold". Bunzl BNZL.L added 2.7% after RBC raised the rating on the business supplies distributor's stock to "sector perform" from "underperform".

The FTSE 100 is on track for its third straight weekly rise and a slight pullback for the month, lagging behind both Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 .STOXX and the U.S. S&P 500 .SPX in August.

Investors are awaiting Friday's U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure data forclues on the quantum of the Fed's likely interest rate cut in September.

Reporting by Khushi Singh, Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Richard Chang

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