S&P 500 Index contracts slumped 4.9 percent at 11:56 p.m. in New York, joining losses in equity futures in the U.K. The pound slid the most on record to its weakest since 1985, while the yen rallied on demand for haven assets.
The Oddschecker average probability of Brexit prevailing surged to 99.75 percent, surging from less than 30 percent before the first results were disclosed at 7 p.m.
The losses triggered the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s limit down price curbs. The rules come into effect when S&P 500 contracts decline 5 percent from a reference price that is calculated in the last 30 seconds of trading on the previous day. E-mini futures on the benchmark gauge settled yesterday at 2,105.75, implying a trigger at around 2,000.
The rules are triggered when S&P 500 contracts decline 5 percent from a reference price that is calculated in the last 30 seconds of trading on the previous day. E-mini futures plunged 5.07 percent to 1,999 and can’t go any lower in the overnight session.
Stocks fell around the world Friday as U.K. voters looked likely to approve a referendum to secede from the European Union, a move that investors have warned will put a break on the already-fragile global economy. The S&P 500 had risen in three of the last four days and closed Thursday less than 1 percent away from its all-time high.
