Financials drag UK's FTSE 100 lower; miners gain

• FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 also down 0.2%
• UK to lift pause on motor finance complaint handling in May 2026
• Miners, energy shares gain; Russia-Ukraine talks falter

Dec 3 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 inched lower on Wednesday as financials stocks declined, offsetting gains in mining and energy shares ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates next week.

Both the blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE and the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC dipped 0.2% by 11:05 GMT, on track to log declines for the third straight session.

Heavyweight banks shares .FTNMX301010 dropped almost 1%, after gains in the previous session.

Britain's financial regulator said it will lift the pause on handling motor finance complaints on May 31, 2026, two months earlier than initially proposed, as it finalises a compensation scheme for those hit by a mis-selling scandal.

The scandal, which dates back to 2007, involves lenders such as Lloyds LLOY.L, Close Brothers CBRO.L and Barclays BARC.L, which are accused of using excessively high interest rates in car-finance arrangements and including extra bonus payments.

Lloyd's Banking LLOY.L lost 1%, while Close Brothers CBRO.L and Barclays BARC.L declined 1.5% and 0.6%, respectively.

HSBC Holdings HSBA.L, which named interim chair Brendan Nelson as permanent CEO in a surprise move, fell 1.1%.

Investment banks and brokerages .FTNMX302020 declined 1.2%. Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group ICGIN.L declined 2.3%.

Among individual stocks, Spire Healthcare SPI.L plunged 15% after the hospital group warned annual profit would come in at the bottom end of guidance.

Sainsbury SBRY.L fell 4% after a term sheet showed that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to reduce its stake in the supermarket chain.

On the flip side, energy .FTNMX601010 stocks gained 0.7% as Russia said talks with U.S. officials in Moscow failed to reach a compromise on a potential Ukraine peace deal.

Industrial metal miners .FTNMX551030 rose 1%, tracking higher copper prices. Glencore GLEN.L, Rio Tinto RIO.L, Antofagasta ANTO.L and Anglo American AAL.L gained between 1.3% and 1.8%. Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 added 1%.

Smiths Group SMIN.L added 1.5%, after the engineering firm said it had agreed to sell its baggage-screening unit to CVC Capital for $2.65 billion.