London - Britain's top equity index rose for the first time in six sessions on Friday, helped by Scottish-based shares such as Royal Bank of Scotland as another poll showed most Scots would vote against independence.
Shares in Scotland-based RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, soft drinks group AG Barr and utility SSE all rose as the latest poll showed Scottish support for staying in the United Kingdom at 52 percent versus support for independence at 48 percent, excluding those who said they did not know how they would vote in next Thursday's referendum.
But with the 'No' camp's advantage very modest, investors refrained from making large bets on the FTSE 100, which was up just 12.76 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,812.38 points at 09:32 SA time.
After a four-week winning streak, the FTSE 100 was on course to record a 0.6 percent fall for this week, which has been marred by concerns about the Scottish referendum, further signs of slowdown in China and the prospect of a tightening in US monetary policy.
“There's decent buying interest at 6,800 but people are worried about the Scottish referendum and that's stopping them from doing too much,” Will Hedden, sales trader at IG, said.
Whitbread was the top loser on the FTSE, down 1.2 percent, as UBS downgraded the owner of Premier Inn hotels and Costa Coffee to “sell” from “neutral”.
Among mid caps, Aveva Group, whose software is used to design power plants, shipping and oil and gas facilities, tumbled 20 percent as it warned about a 14 million pound (R249 million) hit to its first-half revenue from currency moves and the phasing of some rental renewals. - Reuters