Off the wire
China Focus: China takes initiative in cross-border drug control  • Kenyan team set to create new records in world junior championships in Poland  • Guangzhou Evergrande crowned half-way championships after beating Jiangsu Suning  • Special relationship between U.S., Britain "enduring": Obama  • S. Africa launches anti-AIDS campaign targeting girls, young women  • Nigeria's gunmen raid Lagos communities  • Vietnam deeply concerned about DPRK's test-launch of ballistic missiles  • Bulgaria, Greece sign gas interconnection agreement  • Former UN chief calls for credible, peaceful poll in Africa  • Brexit "serious" for both Britain, EU: Swedish PM  
You are here:   Home

1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks open sharply lower as UK votes to quit EU

Xinhua, June 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Friday following global rout, after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum.

The Leave camp won Britain's Brexit referendum on Friday morning by obtaining nearly 52 percent of ballots, pulling the country out of the 28-nation European Union (EU) after its 43-year membership.

Global stock markets took a hit by the outcome of the referendum. European equities nosedived Friday on the stunning referendum results, with German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange diving over 6 percent in the early trading.

In Asia, Tokyo shares also plummeted Friday on the results, with its benchmark Nikkei stock index losing nearly 8 percent, while Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped 1.30 percent to 2,854.29 points.

On the U.S. economic front, new orders for manufactured durable goods in May decreased 5.3 billion U.S. dollars, or 2.2 percent, to 230.7 billion dollars, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 399.80 points, or 2.22 percent, to 17,611.27. The S&P 500 slumped 42.46 points, or 2.01 percent, to 2,070.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 186.55 points, or 3.80 percent, to 4,723.49.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks posted solid gains as investors bet the U.K. would remain in the European Union after Britain's Brexit referendum. Endi