LONDON MARKETS: U.K. Stocks Rise After Poll Points To 'no' In Scotland Vote

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rebounded slightly on Friday after a fresh poll on the Scottish independence referendum put the pro-union campaign in the lead.

The benchmark index added 0.1% to 6,809.27, after closing down 0.5% on Thursday. On the week, the FTSE was eyeing a 0.7% decline.

Scotland update: The polls leading up to the Sept. 18 referendum had earlier this week showed the race between "yes" and "no" was neck to neck, with one survey last weekend actually putting the pro-independence voters in the lead. A new YouGov survey published late Thursday showed the "no" was ahead with 52% of votes, calming nerves that the U.K. could break up and giving a lift to stocks in London on Friday.

Movers: Scotland-exposed stocks inched higher, with Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) up 1%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) rising 0.5% and utility firm SSE PLC 0.4% higher.

Mining firms also rose. Shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) climbed 0.7%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) added 0.7% and Fresnillo PLC put on 0.4%.

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