World stocks saw more than $2 trillion wiped off their value on Friday as Britain’s vote to leave the European Union triggered 5-10 percent falls across Europe’s biggest bourses and a record plunge for sterling.
Such a body blow to global confidence could prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates as planned this year, and might even provoke a new round of emergency policy easing from all the major central banks.
Risk assets were scorched as investors fled to the traditional safe-harbors of top-rated government debt, Japanese yen and gold.
Almost $1 trillion had been lost from European share prices ahead of what is expected to be a nearly 4 percent fall on Wall Street ESc1 when it opens later.