By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets pulled back
Monday after four straight weekly gains, as a poll over the weekend
put the pro-Scottish-independence camp in the lead for the first
time, spooking investors.
With less than two weeks to the Sept. 18 vote, 47% of those
surveyed said "yes" to independence for Scotland, while 45% said
no. Economists have warned about the consequences for a Scottish
breakaway; Goldman Sachs, for example, said last week that it could
cause a eurozone-style crisis for both Scotland and the U.K.
economy, according to media reports.
Market reaction: The pound (GBPUSD) got creamed, trading at
$1.6141 from $1.6328 in late Friday in New York, marking the lowest
level since November.
The FTSE 100 index dropped 1% to 6,788.43.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.8% to
344.83 after posting a 1.6% gain last week to bring the increase
over its streak of four weekly gains to 7%.
France's CAC 40 index gave up 0.3% to 4,472.60. Germany's DAX 30
index fared relatively better, slipping 0.1% to 9,737.20 "as the
surprise rate cut on Thursday continues to be a boon for the
export-led economy," according to a note from Jonathan Sudaria,
dealer at London Capital Group. The European Central Bank on
Thursday cut interest rates and announced it would start to buy
asset-backed securities to boost growth and fight off the threat of
deflation.
Electrolux rally: Shares of the Swedish household-appliances
maker jumped 6.1% to the top of the Stoxx 600 after the company
agreed to buy General Electric's (GE) appliance division for $3.3
billion.
Analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux said in a note that the deal is
very positive for Electrolux, as it helps the firm get a stronger
foothold in North America and Latin America.
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