Trading suspended on Nikkei 225 as shares plummet after UK votes for Brexit
Trading on the Japanese stock market was suspended this morning as the Nikkei 225 tumbled following the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
The benchmark index dropped 8.3 per cent over night – dipping to its lowest level since the end of 2014 – as shares kept dropping as results from across the UK emerged.
Frantic trading caused a 10-minute suspension of trading shortly before 4am GMT this morning.
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Futures on the FTSE 100 point to a 8.6 per cent fall when the market opens in London later today. That would take the index down to 5,800 from yesterday's close of more than 6,300 and mark the sharpest fall in the index since October 2008.
In the run-up to the vote George Osborne did not rule out suspending trading on the London Stock Exchange or even calling a bank holiday to try to contain the fallout.
Read more: EU referendum results – live
Sterling plummeted by 10 per cent overnight, dropping to $1.3392 – its lowest level since 1985 and the sharpest one-day fall since the pound became a free floating currency in the 1970s.
Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, is expected to make a statement later today either reiterating that the Bank stands by to do whatever it takes to support financial stability, while the European Central Bank (ECB) is also standing by to respond as needed when the markets open.