By Sara Sjolin and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch)--London's benchmark stock index moved
firmly higher on Thursday, as Scots headed to the polls to decide
whether to stay in the U.K. or become an independent country.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.6% to close at 6,819.29, after closing
down 0.2% on Wednesday for its third-straight losing session. The
potential for a vote for Scottish independence has kept investors
wary. The outcome of the referendum is expected early Friday. Read
Scotland to call London's bluff over sterling
The British pound (GBPUSD) rose against the dollar, trading at
$1.6372 at the time of the European market close versus $1.6280 in
late North American action. Also read: How to protect your
portfolio against a Scottish exit
A survey from pollster YouGov Thursday morning gave pro-union
support a narrow lead, showing 49% of the 3,000 people polled
between Monday and Wednesday want to keep Scotland in the union and
45% support independence. The rest were undecided or didn't know,
YouGov said.
"If Scots do vote to leave, the market will likely imply a large
premium on protecting against volatility, potentially testing the
bounds of recent price swings," said David White, financial trader
at SpreadEx, in a note to investors.
Other European markets, including the Stoxx Europe 600 were also
higher, getting a boost from the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to
keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time".
Stocks to watch: Shares of TUI Travel PLC were a top gainer in
London, up 4.7%. On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares
to overweight, citing the benefits of the company's pending merger
with TUI AG, more details of which were announced on Monday.
Also rising was EasyJet PLC , which rose 0.5% after the cut-rate
airline said Thursday that it would increase its dividend payout
more than 20% and buy 27 more Airbus Group NV jets.
Miners were giving back ground as gold(GCZ4) and other precious-
and base-metal prices fell. In the wake of the Fed, a rising dollar
knocked gold back to levels not seen since January. Shares of
Fresnillo PLC fell 1.9%, Randgold Resources Ltd. dropped 2.6%, and
heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) slipped 0.3%.
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