(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)

* Both FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 up 0.4%

* BAT sinks on $31.5 bln impairment charge

* TUI jumps on strong FY profit outlook

* November construction PMI at 45.5 vs 46.3 estimate

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 advanced on Wednesday with mining stocks leading gains, while British American Tobacco (BAT) sank after the cigarette maker flagged a $31.5 billion impairment charge.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 and the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 midcap index added 0.4% each by 0931 GMT.

Industrial metal miners climbed 2.2% as prices of most base metals and iron ore rose, and precious metal miners also rose 1.1% on higher gold prices.

However, British American Tobacco tanked 7.6% after the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes said it would take an impairment charge of around 25 billion pounds ($31.50 billion) as it reassessed the value of some of its U.S. cigarette brands.

"North America is witnessing a wave of cheap, unregulated disposable vapes flooding the market, taking demand away from conventional tobacco and Big Tobacco's expensively developed portfolios of next generation brands," said Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Across other asset classes in the UK, the pound edged higher against the dollar, while yields on British government bonds were marginally higher after falling in the previous session.

Looking ahead, eyes would be on more U.S. employment data, with the November ADP National Employment figures due later in the day, leading up to the more comprehensive November nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.

Meanwhile, back home, data showed Britain's construction sector activity fell sharply for a third month in a row in November.

Among individual stocks, London-listed shares of TUI gained 10.0% after Europe's biggest travel operator forecast operating profit would jump 25% this year.

Ten Entertainment soared 31.6% to a record high after the bowling venue operator agreed to a 287 million pound ($361.5 million) buyout deal from U.S. private equity firm Trive Capital.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)