Investing.com - The U.K. has voted by a substantial margin to leave the European Union in a landmark referendum.
The out campaign secured the victory, with the Leave side winning 52% of the vote, against 48% to remain.
Scotland and London voted overwhelmingly for remain, but Wales and the U.K. outside London voted for Brexit.
The referendum turnout was 72%, with more than 30 million people voting.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to make a statement calling for stability and unity following the shock result.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the Leave campaign had won a victory for "real people", and said 23 June should go down as "Independence Day".
The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, with GBP/USD hitting lows of 1.3231 as initial results pointed to a win for the out campaign, before pulling back to 1.3489.
Traders in London are bracing for a massive selloff when the London stock market opens at 8 a.m. local time.
Stock futures indicated that the FTSE 100 index will plunge by around 7%.