By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The FTSE 100 moved into the red for a
third straight day on Tuesday as investors remained concerned about
the outcome of the referendum on Scottish independence next
week.
The London benchmark slipped 0.2% to 6,822.49, erasing a small
gain from the open.
Scotland referendum: Traders were still nervous ahead of the
vote on Scottish independence on Sept. 18 after a poll out over the
weekend put the pro-independence camp in the lead for the first
time. However, other surveys still point to majority for the "no"
campaign.
Economists at Credit Suisse in a note on Tuesday sketched out
some of the risks of Scottish independence, saying Scotland would
fall into a deep recession. They also noted that the pound would
weaken and could fall to as low as $1.50. Read: Pound's selloff on
Scottish uncertainty isn't over
The pound (GBPUSD) got creamed in Monday's trade, but was almost
unchanged on Tuesday. Sterling bought $1.6113, compared with
$1.6110 late Monday in New York.
Data: The Office for National Statistics said industrial
production climbed 0.5% in July, beating market expectations of a
0.3% rise.
Rob Wood, chief U.K. economist at Berenberg, called the numbers
"solid", but cautioned that growth in industrial production should
start to slow over the next couple of months when the "effect of
fighting in Ukraine on core-eurozone business confidence feeds
through to the U.K."
Mark Carney speech: Investors were also eagerly awaiting
Carney's speech in Liverpool, scheduled for 11:45 a.m. London time,
or 6:45 a.m. Eastern time.
"Traders often use these public appearances to scrutinize his
words to potentially gain further clarity and clues on the monetary
policies and any changes in the future," said Sam Fox, financial
sales trader, in a note.
Movers: Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC climbed 3.1% after
Citigroup upgraded the supermarkets chain to buy, according to Dow
Jones Newswires.
Energy firms declined, with shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSB) fell 1.5% and BP PLC (BP) slipped 1%.
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