NEW YORK (AP) " Stocks plunged in the U.S. and worldwide Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union. The result stunned investors, who reacted by rushing to the safety of gold and U.S. government bonds as they wondered what will come next for Britain, Europe and the global economy.
U.S. stocks gave up all their gains from earlier in the year. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 610.32 points, or 3.4 percent, to 17,400.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 75.91 points, or 3.6 percent, to 2,037.41. Both indexes took their biggest losses since August. The Nasdaq composite suffered its biggest loss since mid-2011, down 202.06 points, or 4.1 percent, to 4,707.98. Indexes in Europe and Asia took even larger losses.
The British vote brought a massive dose of uncertainty to financial markets, something investors loathe. Traders responded by dumping riskier assets that appeared to have the most to lose from disruptions in financial flows and trade: banks, technology companies and makers of basic materials. More shares were traded than on any day since August 2011, when Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit rating of the U.S. government during a crisis over the budget and the country's debt ceiling.
Britons voted to leave the EU over concerns including immigration and regulation. It's far from clear what that will mean for international trade or for Europe, as the EU, which was formed in the decades following World War II, has never before lost a member state.
"This vote is a step away from free trade," said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist Nuveen Asset Management. "When you add to it the specter of the last couple of years of terrorism it causes the average individual ... to be more nationalistic, more populist, more protectionist."