Chaos in the Markets as UK Votes to Brexit From the EU

2016-06-24 05:15:00

Oded Shimoni, Junior Currency Analyst

Talking Points:

- UK voters cast their votes and appeared to have decided to "Brexit" from the European Union

- “Risk off” flows seen across the board as the British Pound plunges alongside stock futures

- GBP/USD hits 30-year low as the market digested the incoming results

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The markets are seeing extreme moves today, as UK voters cast their votes and appeared to have decided to “Brexit” from the European Union. While official result have yet to be announced, the “Leave” camp looks to have prevailed by a 51.8% to 48.2% margin.

(Update- Final Result is Leave: 51.9%, Remain: 48.1%).

As the market digested the official results from the different regions throughout the Asian session, it became clear that the numbers are leaning in favor of the leave vote. As was seen in the build up to the referendum (when polls leaned for a “Brexit”) the market has seen moves favoring safety linked assets.

We haven’t had a response yet from Europe or US markets at the moment, as the markets are closed, but futures and currencies are painting a clear “risk off” picture into the trading day. Liquidity is extremely thin at this time and spreads significantly wide, which might suggest that trading this environment should be approached with extreme caution.

The British Pound has plunged to a 30-year low versus the US Dollar, while Euro saw significant declines versus the safety linked Yen and the USD.

Sentiment linked currencies like the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Dollar’s suffered versus the safety linked currencies as well.

Gold has seen an extreme bounce alongside the US Treasuries, while stock futures moved sharply lower.

GBPUSD 5-Minute Chart: June24, 2016