Brace yourself for a Black Friday on Wall Street.
The result from a historic referendum in the U.K. is rocking markets around the world and slamming U.S. stock futures, which indicate how shares will open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Investors are reacting with shock to the announcement that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union, which is a political, economic and free trade union between 28 member nations. Nearly 52% of U.K. voters cast their ballots in support of a British exit, or Brexit.
Dow Jones industrial average futures are off by about 600 points, or roughly 3.3%, ahead of the opening bell in New York.
The S&P 500 looks set to plunge by about 4.3%, and Nasdaq futures are also down by about 4.3%.
The U.K. is America’s seventh biggest trading partner.
Global stock markets are in sell-off mode and currencies are swinging wildly.
The benchmark Nikkei index in Japan dropped nearly 8% on Friday, making it the biggest stock market loser in Asia.
The British pound crashed overnight, dropping by more than 10% versus the U.S. dollar and hitting a level not seen since the mid-1980s. The pound had been trading at its highest level of the year around $1.50 on Thursday ahead of the referendum results. It fell to as low as $1.32 but has now recovered a bit to trade around $1.36.
The euro is also down versus all major global currencies. The referendum has created political uncertainty about the future of the European Union and the eurozone.
The U.K. will now have to extract itself from its membership in the European Union over the next few years and rework trade agreements with countries around the world. This is expected to have a massive knock-on effect on global trade and politics and create market uncertainty.
Investors are also piling into gold, which is rallying by nearly 5%. They’re also crowding into U.S. government bonds, pushing down the yield on 10-year bonds to about 1.45%.
Crude oil futures are dropping by about 5% to trade around $47.50 per barrel.
Thursday market recap: There had been optimism on Thursday as investors bet the U.K. would vote to remain in the European Union.
U.S. stocks soared along with global markets on Thursday as Britons went to the polls. The Dow gained 230 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 rose 1.3% while the Nasdaq jumped 1.6%.
Experts said that private polling could have led to the optimism on Wall Street. Reports of high turnout — which would ideally help the Remain camp — buoyed hopes too, they said.
–CNNMoney’s Patrick Gillespie contributed to this report.
