EUROPE MARKETS: Europe Markets Pull Back As Scottish Poll Spooks Investors

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, touching an intraday low of $1.6103 from $1.6328 in late Friday in New York, marking the lowest level since November. At the time of the European close, sterling traded at $1.6139.

The FTSE 100 index dropped 0.3% to 6,834.77.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.4% to close at 346.09 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 4,474.93. Germany's DAX 30 index fared relatively better, rising 0.1% to 9,758.03 "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 5.1% 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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