UK's FTSE 100 ends lower as financials stocks drag

Dec 3 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 ended slightly lower on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in financials stocks, while mining and energy shares advanced ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates next week.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE closed down 0.1%, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC edged up 0.1%.

Industrial metal miners .FTNMX551030 rose 3.3% as copper prices hit a record high. Glencore GLEN.L rose 6.3%, hitting an over 10-month high after the miner said it aims to reach 1.6 million metric tons of copper production by 2035.

Antofagasta ANTO.L rose 4.9% and Anglo American AAL.L added 2.5%.

Aerospace and defence .FTNMX502010 gained 1.4% after Russia said talks with U.S. officials in Moscow failed to reach a compromise on a potential Ukraine peace deal. Rolls-Royce RR.L added 1.6% while Babcock International BAB.L rose 1.5%.

Energy stocks .FTNMX601010 advanced 0.7%, tracking a rise in oil prices. BP BP.L gained 1.3%.

On the flip side, heavyweight bank shares .FTNMX301010 dropped 1.7%.

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 1.4% while Close Brothers CBRO.L and Barclays BARC.L declined about 0.7% each.

HSBC Holdings HSBA.L, which named interim chair Brendan Nelson as permanent CEO in a surprise move, fell 1.6%.

A survey showed growth among Britain's services firms declined last month and employment contracted the most since February in the run-up to the government's budget.

The broader pharma sector .FTNMX201030 lost 0.5%. Consumer staples stocks such as Marks & Spencer MKS.L and British American Tobacco BATS.L also declined.

Among individual stocks, Sainsbury SBRY.L fell 4.2% after a term sheet showed that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to reduce its stake in the supermarket chain.

London Stock Exchange group LSEG.L gained 1.4% after a deal with OpenAI to integrate its financial data and analytics into ChatGPT.