European Shares Dip Early; Scotland Worries Weigh

By Yomna Yasser On Sep 8, 2014

European shares fell in early trading on Monday, retreating after an opinion poll showed supporters of Scottish independence from Britain taking the lead for the first time since the referendum campaign began.

At 0702 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3 percent at 1,391.88 points. The benchmark index gained 1.6 percent last week.

With less than two weeks to go before the vote, a YouGov survey for the Sunday Times newspaper put the “Yes” to independence campaign at 51 percent against the “no” camp at 49 percent, overturning a 22-point lead for the unionist campaign in just a month.

Shares in Electrolux bucked the trend, rising 6.3 percent after it agreed to buy General Electric Co’s appliance business for $3.3 billion.

Source: Reuters