(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's main stock markets fell on Thursday and the euro and British pound rebounded against the dollar, with the focus on the upcoming referendum on Scottish independence.
In London midday deals, the FTSE 100 index of top companies dropped 0.54 percent to 6,793.42 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 0.52 percent to 9,649.50 points and in Paris the CAC 40 declined 0.51 percent compared with Wednesday's close to stand at 4,428.27.
The ruble fell to a record low level as the European Union prepared to hit Moscow with harsher sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
"We are one week away from the Scottish referendum on independence and it is all traders are talking about," said David Madden, a London-based market analyst for IG trading group.
Asian shares ended mostly lower after China released data showing inflation remained tepid in August and the People's Bank of China decided to withdraw some liquidity from the financial system.
Equities and oil prices were also hit when the International Energy Agency report cut its international oil demand forecast due to weak economic growth in Europe and China.
Crude prices fell after the report, with Brent North Sea crude for October sliding to a 17-month low of $97.10 a barrel.
The news also weighed across the Atlantic, where US shares opened lower.
Five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36 percent to 17,008.09.US shares opened lower
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.28 percent to 1,990.09 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.28 percent to 4,573.73 points.
- Scotland vote in focus -
Royal Bank of Scotland will move its registered offices to England if Scotland votes for independence from Britain in next week's referendum, the state-owned lender said on Thursday.
Barely a month ago, there seemed little likelihood of victory for the "Yes" camp, but two polls since the weekend put it either ahead or in a dead heat with the "No" camp among voters who had made up their minds.
Confusing the picture, a new poll out Wednesday gave the "No" camp a six point lead, unchanged from two months previously.
"This change may suggest that some of those undecided voters have not been convinced by the lack of guarantees that the independence campaign offers, with the future currency, central bank, monarchy and membership in Europe up in the air," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari traders.
The RBS shares rose 1.29 percent to 346.60 pence in London deals, while Lloyds increased 1.05 percent to 74.00 pence.
The pound jumped to $1.6257 from $1.6211 late in New York on Wednesday. The euro was at 79.61 pence versus 79.68 pence.
The pound sank to 10-month low points against the dollar and three-month troughs versus the euro this week on fears over the impact of Scottish independence on the British currency.
The European single currency climbed to $1.2943 from $1.2917 on Wednesday. The euro hit 14-month lows against the US currency this week in the wake of the European Central Bank's recent decision to cut the eurozone's key interest rate.
The ruble fell to 37.57 against the dollar at about 1135 GMT, a new record after it fell to 37.51 on September 1. The ruble also fell against the euro, and the Moscow stock markets fell.
The price of gold fell to its lowest level since the end of January at $1,237.39 an ounce at 1030 GMT. By mid-afternoon, it had recovered to $1,247, from $1,251 Wednesday on the London Bullion Market.
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