June 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures FFIc1 index down 0.58% on Monday.
* ASTRAZENECA: Britain's AstraZeneca AZN.L has approached U.S. rival Gilead Sciences GILD.O about a possible merger to form one the world's largest drug companies, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
* HSBC: HSBC Holdings Plc HSBA.L Chairman Mark Tucker has warned Britain against a ban on networking equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, claiming the bank could face reprisals in China, the Telegraph reported on Saturday.
* GOLD: Gold inched up on Monday although safe-haven demand remained subdued, after prices fell to a more than one-month low in the last session as an unexpected jump in U.S. employment boosted hopes for a swift economic recovery.
* OIL: Oil prices rose more than 2% early on Monday to their highest in three months after OPEC and its allies including Russia agreed to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July.
* The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 2.3% higher on Friday, as optimism around a post-coronavirus economic recovery drove investors back to riskier assets.
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