On Friday, U.S. stocks took a sharp nosedive at the open, with investors shocked at Britain’s historic yet unexpected move to exit the European Union, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron’s subsequent announcement that he will resign.
Yesterday, markets were betting that Britain would vote to stay with the EU.
All across the world, financial markets are reflecting panic and surprise in wake of the Brexit and the potential for volatility and uncertainty it could cause.
United States
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 500 points this morning, resulting in the biggest drop the Dow has seen in 10 months. As of 10:35 AM EST, the Dow has managed to climb slightly back up, down 393.12 points, or 2.18% in the red.
The Nasdaq fell more than 176 points at the open, while the S&P 500 dropped almost 55 points. Both indexes are still down as of 10:25 AM EST, and like the Dow, have clawed their way back a little bit. Currently, the Nasdaq is down just over 138 points, or 2.84%, and the S&P 500 is down over 51 points, or 2.42%.
Europe
The FTSE 100, Britain’s blue chip stock index, fell as much as 8.7% when the London stock exchange opened on Friday after the vote. It’s now down just over 2.5%. The FTSE 250 fell even farther at the open, dropping by 12.3% before recovering to 7.1%.
The German DAX is currently down 6.15% after sliding as much as 10% at its open, while France’s CAC 40 fell over 8.5% when the market opened, but is still down over 7% in late morning trading. Spain’s IBEX 35 crashed 12.39%, and the Pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 7.34 percent.
In terms of currency, the British pound sterling fell to its lowest level in 31 years, with £1=$1.38. The euro, which is the single currency shared by 19 EU members, dropped 2.89% against the dollar.
Asia
Asia indexes were not immune to investor panic. Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw its worst trading day since March 2011, ending the day down 7.29%. In China, the Shanghai composite fell 1.22%, the Shenzhen composite was down 0.76%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.92% by the end of the day. In South Korea, the Kopsi index closed the day down 3.09%.
As for currency, the Japanese yen, in contrast to its market performance, strengthened as much as 7.2% against the dollar, marking the first time it has done so since November 2013. In Chine, the offshore yuan, which is traded in Hong Kong, fell 0.8% against the dollar, and the onshore currency traded in Shanghai weakened by 0.5%. South Korea’s won slid 2.5% against the dollar.
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Wall Street, Global Markets Plummet on Surprise 'Brexit' Vote
On Friday, U.S. stocks took a sharp nosedive at the open, with investors shocked at Britain’s historic yet unexpected move to exit the European Union, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron’s subsequent announcement that he will resign.
Yesterday, markets were betting that Britain would vote to stay with the EU.
All across the world, financial markets are reflecting panic and surprise in wake of the Brexit and the potential for volatility and uncertainty it could cause.
United States
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 500 points this morning, resulting in the biggest drop the Dow has seen in 10 months. As of 10:35 AM EST, the Dow has managed to climb slightly back up, down 393.12 points, or 2.18% in the red.
The Nasdaq fell more than 176 points at the open, while the S&P 500 dropped almost 55 points. Both indexes are still down as of 10:25 AM EST, and like the Dow, have clawed their way back a little bit. Currently, the Nasdaq is down just over 138 points, or 2.84%, and the S&P 500 is down over 51 points, or 2.42%.
Europe
The FTSE 100, Britain’s blue chip stock index, fell as much as 8.7% when the London stock exchange opened on Friday after the vote. It’s now down just over 2.5%. The FTSE 250 fell even farther at the open, dropping by 12.3% before recovering to 7.1%.
The German DAX is currently down 6.15% after sliding as much as 10% at its open, while France’s CAC 40 fell over 8.5% when the market opened, but is still down over 7% in late morning trading. Spain’s IBEX 35 crashed 12.39%, and the Pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 7.34 percent.
In terms of currency, the British pound sterling fell to its lowest level in 31 years, with £1=$1.38. The euro, which is the single currency shared by 19 EU members, dropped 2.89% against the dollar.
Asia
Asia indexes were not immune to investor panic. Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw its worst trading day since March 2011, ending the day down 7.29%. In China, the Shanghai composite fell 1.22%, the Shenzhen composite was down 0.76%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.92% by the end of the day. In South Korea, the Kopsi index closed the day down 3.09%.
As for currency, the Japanese yen, in contrast to its market performance, strengthened as much as 7.2% against the dollar, marking the first time it has done so since November 2013. In Chine, the offshore yuan, which is traded in Hong Kong, fell 0.8% against the dollar, and the onshore currency traded in Shanghai weakened by 0.5%. South Korea’s won slid 2.5% against the dollar.
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