Global markets buckled as Britain’s vote to leave the European Union drove the pound to the lowest in more than 30 years and wiped about $3 trillion from stock market values while sparking demand for haven assets from U.S. Treasuries to gold. 
 
 Why Britain Voted to Leave the EU 
 
 MSCI’s global stock index plunged 4.8 percent in the biggest slide since August 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 600 points, or 3.7 percent, to erase gains for the year, while European stocks slid 7 percent in its worst day since 2008. Volume in U.S. trading topped 13 billion shares, the most this year. The yen briefly strengthened past 100 per dollar. Treasury yields had their biggest drop in more than four years and gold rallied above $1,300 an ounce. Volatility surged, with the CBOE’s measure of anxiety jumping 43 percent. 
 
 “This is going to take a large number of trading days, if not weeks, to iron through,” said Stephen Wood, who helps manage $237 billion as chief market strategist for North America at Russell Investments in New York. “‘There were a lot of surprise positions that had be unwound very, very quickly -- that’s been a significant phenomenon. Some of that will probably be re-traced. Initial reactions tend to be more extreme than long-term averages.” 
 
 The victory for the “Leave” campaign prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to resign, while Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said a second referendum on independence was back “on the table.” The outcome stunned many investors who’d put wagers on riskier assets over the past week as bookmakers’ odds suggested the chance of a so-called Brexit was less than one in four. 
 
 “Market participants are right to be concerned,” said Dean Maki, chief economist of investment firm Point72 Asset Management. “This is a legitimate risk-off event, and there are concerns about what’s going to happen. We’re likely to see weaker growth as a result of this, and it’s appropriate that markets are reacting to this.” 
 
 For full coverage of the referendum, click here 
 
 Riskier assets stemmed losses amid a chorus of central bank assurances that policy makers stand ready to intervene. Mark Carney said the Bank of England could pump billions of pounds into the financial system, while the European Central Bank said it will give banks all the funding they require. The Federal Reserve said it was “carefully monitoring” financial markets. 
 
 “The central banks are saying all the right things and they’re flooding the market with liquidity so you have a more orderly move,” said Frank Maeba, managing partner with Breton Hill Capital in Toronto. His firm manages about C$1.4 billion. “You may be seeing some tactical rotation, the U.S. looks more solid now at least until the U.S. election.” 
 
 These are among the most notable moves in global financial markets Friday: 
 
 British pound falls as much as 11 percent to $1.3229, weakest since 1985 
 
 Dow Jones Industrial Average sinks more than 600 points, most since August 
 
 Yen briefly strengthens to 99.02 per dollar, first time below 100 since 2013 
 
 Yen briefly strengthens to 99.02 per dollar, first time below 100 since 2013 FTSE 100 Index slides as much as 8.7 percent, most since 2008 
 
 
 
 European stocks lose 7 percent in biggest drop since financial crisis 
 
 Gold surges as much as 8.1 percent to $1,358.54 an ounce on twice average volume 
 
 twice average volume Yield on 10-year Treasuries drops as low as 1.40 percent 
 
 New York crude oil retreats as much as 6.8 percent to $46.70 a barrel 
 
 
 
 
 
 Stocks 
 
 The S&P 500 Index fell 3.6 percent to 2,037.31 at 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest drop since August. The losses wiped out the index’s gain for 2016. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 4.1 percent, for the steepest slide since 2011. 
 
 Banks plunged after rallying the most in five weeks Thursday, with Citigroup Inc. down 9.4 percent. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lost more than 6.9 percent. Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. sank at least 5.3 percent after pacing the Dow’s biggest gain in three months Thursday. Energy shares lost 3.5 percent as crude fell. 
 
 The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled 7 percent in the worst day since the height of the financial crisis. The volume of shares changing hands on the European gauge was almost four times higher than the 30-day average. The FTSE 100 Index fell 3.2 percent, trimming a slump of as much as 8.7 percent as exporters gained amid a plunge in the pound. 
 
 Eastern Europe led a selloff in developing-nation shares, with benchmark stock indexes in Warsaw, Prague and Istanbul retreating at least 4.1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index lost 3.6 percent, the most since August. 
 
 Currencies 
 
 The pound was down 8.2 percent to $1.3652. Its biggest one-day loss prior to that was a move of 4.1 percent recorded in 1992, when the currency was forced out of Europe’s exchange-rate mechanism. 
 
 The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 1.8 percent as the euro slumped 2.7 percent, while currencies in Norway, Sweden and Australia posted even steeper losses. 
 
 The yen soared past a milestone versus the U.S. dollar for the first time since November 2013. Japan’s currency strengthened as much as 7.2 percent to 99.02 per dollar. It rallied against all 31 of its major peers as investors sought safety. 
 
 Bonds 
 
 Treasuries surged, pushing benchmark yields down the most in seven years, as demand rose for U.S. debt, traditionally a haven for global investors during periods of stress. U.S. 10-year note yields plunged 17 basis points, or 0.17 percentage point, to 1.57 percent. The yield fell as low as 1.4 percent, approaching the record low of 1.38 percent reached in July 2012. The last time it fell more was in March 2009. 
 
 U.K. government bonds surged amid speculation the Bank of England will maintain an easy monetary policy to ward off the risk of recession after the departure. Benchmark 10-year gilt yields dropped to an all-time low, while those on two-year securities plunged to the lowest since April 2013. S&P Global Ratings is preparing to remove the U.K.’s top credit grade after the country voted to leave the European Union. 
 
 Europe’s corporate-bond market may be closed for weeks as investors and companies try to divine the implications of the U.K.’s decision. Overall bond sales in Europe next week may total less than 5 billion euros, according to 81 percent of market participants surveyed by Bloomberg. Zero issuance was predicted by 37.5 percent, which would be a first for the year. 
 
 Commodities 
 
 Gold surged the most since the height of the 2008 global financial crisis. Futures for August delivery rose 4.7 percent to settle at $1,322.40, with trading volume three times the average. 
 
 Other commodities plunged, swept up in the global market frenzy. West Texas Intermediate fell 4.9 percent to settle at $47.64. Brent crude futures slumped as much as 6.6 percent and copper in London sank the most since Jan. 7 as the U.S. dollar surged. The Bloomberg Commodities Index of returns on 22 raw materials fell as much as 2.2 percent, the most since January. 
 
 “The flight to safety is very, very evident,” said Jeremy Wrathall, head of global natural resources in London at Investec Plc. “Copper is moving down, oil is moving down, it’s a reaction to the dollar. The only commodity that’s not behaving that way is gold.” 
 
 Listen to the Benchmark Brexit Special Podcast: ||||| Two men walk past a screen showing Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong, Friday, June 24, 2016. Global financial markets dived on Friday as media reports forecast that British voters had opted to leave the European... (Associated Press) 
 
 Two men walk past a screen showing Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong, Friday, June 24, 2016. Global financial markets dived on Friday as media reports forecast that British voters had opted to leave the European Union, shocking investors and triggering jitters across the globe. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) (Associated Press) 
 
 LONDON (AP) — Stock markets crashed, oil prices tumbled and the pound fell to a 31-year low on Friday as Britain's unprecedented vote to leave the European Union shocked investors and dragged the region, the world's largest economic bloc, into a new era of uncertainty. 
 
 Investors rushed to dump European shares as soon as markets opened, following earlier drops in Asia, and Wall Street was set to fall sharply amid concerns about the economic consequences of the vote. The move could drain confidence among companies and business across the EU, which some fear could even face more defections. 
 
 Britain's FTSE 100 plunged about 8 percent but recovered slightly for a 5 percent loss. The German index tanked 7 percent and France's index tumbled about 9 percent. Wall Street was due to open sharply lower, with Dow and S&P 500 futures down 2.8 percent and 3.6 percent. 
 
 The pound hit its lowest level since 1985, diving as much as 11 percent before recovering slightly to trade 8 percent lower at $1.3704. Oil prices tumbled, with the U.S. benchmark $2.24 lower at $47.87 a barrel. The Nikkei 225 closed down 8 percent, its biggest fall since the global financial crisis in 2008. 
 
 The result of the vote, which trickled in overnight in Europe, caught investors by surprise. Markets had rallied on Thursday on hopes that a so-called "Brexit" would be avoided and bookies were giving the "remain" camp a high probability of success. 
 
 "U.K. voters have opted for Brexit. If fully followed through, this will be an act of economic self-harm with global ramifications," said Samuel Tombs, chief U.K. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. 
 
 Britain's decision to leave the EU launches what will be years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with the EU, which will shrink to a 27-nation bloc. Above all, it creates uncertainty, which is toxic to businesses looking to making investments or consumers looking to make purchases. 
 
 It could also threaten London's position as one of the world's pre-eminent financial centers as professionals could lose the right to work across the EU. The U.K. hosts more headquarters of non-EU firms than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together. 
 
 The Bank of England said it had made contingency plans for a "leave" vote and promised to take action to maintain stability. It noted that it has 250 billion pounds ($342 billion) in liquidity available for banks. "We are well prepared for this," the bank's governor, Mark Carney, said in a televised statement. 
 
 That seemed to help confidence somewhat, particularly in financial stocks, which were among the hardest hit. Shares in Barclays bank in London had tanked as much as 30 percent before settling for a 20 percent drop. 
 
 Banks have the most to lose in Britain's departure from the EU as they do a lot of cross-border activity, which is facilitated in the EU, which has no borders, tariffs, or limits on the movement money and people. 
 
 Japan's Nikkei 225 finished the wild day at 14,952.02 down 7.9 percent while South Korea's Kospi sank 3.1 percent to 1,925.24, its biggest fall in four years. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 4.4 percent to 19,942.90 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 3.2 percent to 5,113.20. Stocks in Shanghai, Taiwan, Sydney, Mumbai and Southeast Asian countries were sharply lower. 
 
 "Financial markets throughout the night have been chaotic to say the least," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London. "All eyes will now be on central banks around the world to see how they respond to these market developments, particularly the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan." 
 
 In other currencies, the dollar fell to 102.44 yen from 104.80 yen while the euro weakened to $1.1052 from $1.1320. 
 
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 Kirka reported from London. Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong also contributed to this report.
– It's Day 2 of the new Brexit reality, at least as far as the markets are concerned, and the Dow started the day down roughly 1%, with the drop hovering around 205 points as of this writing at 17,195. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down roughly the same percentage. That's thus far more modest than what we saw Friday. The British pound, which last week plunged to its lowest level since 1985, dropped another 2.4% to $1.3352, despite the British Treasury's reassurances that the economy was strong enough to withstand the uncertainty. European stock markets added to their painful losses from Friday, when concern over the vote outcome wiped out $2.1 trillion of stock value from Hong Kong to London to New York, reports the AP. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 1.3% at 6,056 while Germany's DAX shed 1.3% to 9,434 and France's CAC 40 dropped 1.3% as well to 4,053. Meanwhile, in a Monday CNBC interview Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said that the decision of British voters to leave the European Union is "an additional headwind" for the US and global economies but "there is no sense of a financial crisis developing." He continued, per the AP, "I am not saying there will not be an impact on markets but it has been an orderly impact so far."