By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks and the pound dropped on Monday as nervousness ahead of the Scottish independence referendum intensified after a poll released over the weekend put the pro-independence voters in the lead.

The FTSE 100 index lost 0.3% to close at 6,834.77, the second straight day in the red. The pound (GBPUSD) slumped to $1.6139 from $1.6328 in late Friday in New York, after hitting an intraday low of $1.6103, its lowest level since November.

The weakness came as a survey by pollster YouGov released over the weekend showed 47% of potential voters were in favor of an independent Scotland, while 45% were against it. That's the first time ahead of the Sept. 18 referendum that the "yes" to independence camp has been in the lead.

"I highly doubt anyone has an accurate model of what Scottish independence means for England but following the recent YouGov poll; analysts have concluded that it's not good," said Jonathan Sudaria, dealer at London Capital Group, said in a note.

Banks posted some of the biggest losses in London on Monday, with shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) down 1.3%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) off 2.4% and Barclays PLC (BCS) 0.6% lower.

Scottish-domiciled names such as Standard Life PLC and SSE PLC were also falling, down 2.4% and 2.3% respectively.

Posting the biggest decline in the FTSE 100, shares of Associated British Foods PLC slid 5.2% after the food and clothing company said full-year revenue from its sugar division is expected to be lower than a year ago.

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