US stocks plunge on Brexit; Dow falls 610 points
US stocks dived Friday after Britain's surprise vote to leave the European Union, joining a global equity rout amid rising uncertainty about the future of Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 3.4 percent to 17,399.86. The drop of about 610 points was the index's biggest single-day point loss in nearly five years.
The broad-based S&P 500 plunged 3.6 percent to 2,037.30, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 4.1 percent to 4,707.98.
Although the losses were broad-based in the US, sectors that were especially hard-hit included banking, energy, travel and industrials.
The unexpected British decision also reverberated through other financial markets, slamming the British pound and boosting gold.
"This was really an event that caught most global investors flat-footed," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of BMO Private Bank.
"We're going to see more days like today as the collective wisdom may prove wrong in others cases, too."