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, -0.20% 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 UKX, -0.95% dropped 1% to 6,788.43.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.83% 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 PX1, -0.43% gave up 0.3% to 4,472.60. Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, -0.20% 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 ELUXB, +5.71% jumped 6.1% to the top of the Stoxx 600 after the company agreed to buy General Electric’s GE, +0.54% 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.
