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European shares inch higher, caution before Fed, Scotland vote

* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 0.1 percent

* Latest Scotland poll shows "no" at 52 percent

* Aveva tumbles after warning about currency impact

By Atul Prakash and Blaise Robinson

LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - European equities edged higher on Friday, although major share indexes remained in a tight range as investors refrained from making strong bets on stocks ahead of Scotland's referendum and the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.

At 1025 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.1 percent at 1,385.01 points after losing 0.1 percent on Thursday.

With just a week to go before Scots vote in a referendum on independence, a YouGov poll for The Times and Sun newspapers showed on Friday Scottish support for the union at 52 percent versus support for independence at 48 percent, excluding those who said they did not know how they would vote.

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"There's a lot of hesitation at this point. People are reluctant to take any new positions ahead of the Scotland referendum, but also ahead of the Fed's meeting next week which could turn out to be a real game changer," Saxo Bank sales trader Andrea Tueni said.

A recent survey for the Sunday Times newspaper had put the "yes" to independence campaign at 51 percent against the "no" camp at 49 percent, rattling investors and sparking worries over similar independence movements across Europe.

"A 'Yes' vote can trigger considerable financial turbulence in the UK," Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) said.

"Uncertainty over the currency arrangements Scotland would adopt and its extremely large financial sector would create a disequilibrium that financial markets would seek to balance through capital flows and distress."

Also on Thursday, hundreds of thousands of Catalans packed the streets of Barcelona to demand the right to vote on a potential split from Spain.

Investors were cautious amid speculation about the prospects for rising U.S. interest, ahead of the Fed's policy meeting next week. The market will focus on the central bank's words, seeking clues on the timing of the first U.S. rate hike in more than eight years.

Recent talk that the Fed might turn hawkish at its policy meeting next week, possibly by dropping its commitment to keeping interest rates low, has seen U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar steadily rise.

Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index down 0.3 percent, and France's CAC 40 down 0.2 percent.

Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) in Aveva Group (Other OTC: AVEVF - news) , whose software is used to design ships and nuclear power stations, featured among the top losers across Europe, tumbling 23 percent after the group said it would take a 14 million pound hit from currency movements and the timing of contract renewals.

EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) fell 2.5 percent after the State Council, France's highest administrative court, rejected an appeal against a government cap on the dominant power supplier's regulated electricity prices.

On the positive side, Novo Nordisk (Other OTC: NONOF - news) rose 3.3 percent, the top gainer on the FTSEurofirst 300 index, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded the company's drug liraglutide was safe and effective enough to warrant approval for use in chronically obese patients.

Europe bourses in 2014: http://link.reuters.com/pap87v

Asset performance in 2014: http://link.reuters.com/gap87v

Today's European research round-up

(Editing by Toby Chopra)