Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is expected to open lower on Monday, with futures down 0.31%.
* PETROFAC: Oilfield services firm Petrofac Ltd said it was in discussions over the sale of its non-core assets and that it will no longer be able to meet its full-year guidance of "broadly neutral free cash flow" due to payment delays.
* ROCCO FORTE HOTELS: Rocco Forte Hotels said that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has agreed to buy a minority stake in the luxury hotel company from Italian investor CDPE Investimenti that is looking to sell its entire shareholding.
* ASTRAZENECA: Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has signed a deal worth up to $247 million with U.S. artificial intelligence biologics firm Absci to design an antibody to fight cancer, Absci said in a statement on Sunday.
* TELEGRAPH: Britain's government on Friday blocked an Abu Dhabi-backed group from taking ownership of the media group that owns the Telegraph newspaper while its takeover bid is scrutinised by regulators over freedom of expression concerns.
* METAL: London copper prices fell, coming off a near four-month high touched last week, as a stronger U.S. dollar offset worries of tighter supply for the metal.
* GOLD: Gold prices bolted to an all-time high above $2,100 per ounce as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks elevated traders' confidence that the U.S. central bank could cut interest rates early next year.
* OIL: Oil futures reversed course after rising briefly amid persistent pressure from the OPEC+ decision and uncertainty over global fuel demand growth, although the risk of supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict limited the losses.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Zainab Saifuddin Saifee in Bengaluru)
