Investing.com - Asian shares fell sharply on Friday with Tokyo in a trading halt as investors scurried for cover with a referendum expected to show a majority of voters want the U.K. to leave the European Union.
The Nikkei 225 plunged 7.19%, prompting a trading halt as circuit breakers kicked in, while the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 3.57% and the Shanghai Composite fell 1.19%.
Analysts at JP Morgan, based on results, said they were pointing to 51.5% to 48.5% for Leave, while bookies leaned that way as well.
Sterling plunged on the results, falling as much as 10% from intraday highs to below 1.34 to the dollar.
The initial shock came from a crushing victory for 'Leave' in Sunderland in the north-east of England. There have since been a string of results that have been markedly stronger for 'Leave' than pundits had expected.
The one remaining hope for the Remain camp was that London would come out very strongly for staying in, with the first sizeable constituency, Lambeth, coming out 79% for 'Remain'.
Final results are due early in London on Friday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Financials, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.29% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 1.34%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 1.59%.