European Shares Decline as Investors Prepare for FOMC, Scotland Vote

European shares declined on Monday, with investors reluctant to take any moves before Scotland’s vote on independence and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week.

-  Stoxx      600   lost 0.10 percent or 0.36 points to  343.91

-  Stoxx 50   dropped 0.10% or 3.37 points to 3231.70

Recent talk the Fed might turn hawkish at its policy meeting this week, possibly by dropping its commitment to keeping interest rates low, has pushed up U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar.

In Scotland, the latest round of polls showed Thursday`s vote on independence still too close to call. One poll showed the "No" vote 8 points in front, another showed the same lead for the Yes camp and two others gave a 51-49 percent and 53-47 percent split respectively in favor of sticking with the union.

-The British  FTSE 100   lost 0.04% or 2.75 points to   6804.21

-The French  CAC 40   lost 0.29% or 13.07 points to  4428.63

-Frankfurt’s  DAX 30   advanced 0.09% or 8.50 points to  9659.63

Reports of more mergers and acquisitions did fuel a rally among brewers, after the Wall Street Journal said Anheuer-Busch InBev was preparing a possible $122 billion bid for SABMiller.

SABMiller jumped 13 percent, for a swing of roughly $11 billion in its market value. Shares in Heineken also rose, by 4.1 percent, after it said SABMiller had approached it about a takeover but that its controlling shareholder intended to keep the company independent.

AB InBev shares rose 3.3 percent and Carlsberg was up 1.9 percent.

Hennes & Mauritz also featured among the top gainers, rose 2.5 percent after the fashion retailer said sales climbed nearly 20 percent in August, beating forecasts.