By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks markets headed mostly
lower on Thursday, with the benchmark index heading for its fifth
straight day in the red.
The major indexes had started in positive territory after a poll
on the Scottish referendum put the pro-union campaign back in the
lead, but gains then fizzled. Investors remained concerned about
the timing of the first U.S. interest-rate hike and awaited weekly
labor-market data from Washington to help gauge when it might come.
U.S. stock futures were also pointing to a lower open in Wall
Street.
Market reaction: The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to 344.33,
on track for the lowest close in over a week. France's CAC 40 index
lost 0.4% to 4,432.12, while Germany's DAX 30 index dropped 0.2% to
9,677.80.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index lost 0.4% to 6,801.50. The pound
(GBPUSD) climbed to $1.6250 from $1.6202 Wednesday afternoon in New
York, getting a lift from the survey pointing to a "no" for
Scotland's independence.
RBS and Lloyds boost: Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and
Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) both rose 1.3% after the banks warned
they would relocate to England if Scotland votes in favor of
leaving the U.K. at the referendum on Sept. 18.
Data: German inflation was stuck at a 4 1/2-year low of 0.8% in
August, data from the Federal Statistics Office confirmed on
Thursday. Inflation in France was 0.5% in August as expected.
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