By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks and the pound dropped on
Monday as nervousness ahead of the Scottish independence referendum
intensified after a poll released over the weekend put the
pro-independence voters in the lead.
The FTSE 100 index lost 0.3% to close at 6,834.77, the second
straight day in the red. The pound (GBPUSD) slumped to $1.6139 from
$1.6328 in late Friday in New York, after hitting an intraday low
of $1.6103, its lowest level since November.
The weakness came as a survey by pollster YouGov released over
the weekend showed 47% of potential voters were in favor of an
independent Scotland, while 45% were against it. That's the first
time ahead of the Sept. 18 referendum that the "yes" to
independence camp has been in the lead.
"I highly doubt anyone has an accurate model of what Scottish
independence means for England but following the recent YouGov
poll; analysts have concluded that it's not good," said Jonathan
Sudaria, dealer at London Capital Group, said in a note.
Banks posted some of the biggest losses in London on Monday,
with shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) down 1.3%,
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) off 2.4% and Barclays PLC (BCS) 0.6%
lower.
Scottish-domiciled names such as Standard Life PLC and SSE PLC
were also falling, down 2.4% and 2.3% respectively.
Posting the biggest decline in the FTSE 100, shares of
Associated British Foods PLC slid 5.2% after the food and clothing
company said full-year revenue from its sugar division is expected
to be lower than a year ago.
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