Stocks Sell Off Big after Britain Votes to Leave EU

U.S. Market
U.S. stocks were roiled Friday, after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union in a historic, and largely unexpected, move. 

The Dow was down 3.2%, the S&P 500 fell 3.4%, and the Nasdaq lost 4.0%.

Stocks on the Move
Share of European banks fell hard as investors digested the Brexit news, with  Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS) falling -22.96;  Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) down -22.47;  Barclays PLC (BCS) losing -20.39; and  Banco Santander (SAN) falling -20.21. "The Brexit vote will have wide-reaching implications for our European financials coverage universe. We plan to lower the fair value estimates for several U.K. banks such as Barclays PLC,  Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, and  Lloyds Banking Group PLC, and we will review others such as  Banco Santander SA, which has U.K. exposure," said Morningstar director of financial services Stephen Ellis.

As often happens during market sell-offs, shares of gold companies soared. Shares of Sibanye Gold Ltd ADR (SBGL) rose 11.48%; B2Gold Corp (BTG) were up 10.32%; Gold Fields Ltd ADR (GFI) jumped 9.79%; Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd ADR (HMY) were up 9.28%; and 
 Iamgold Corp (IAG) rose 8.2%.

 
Foreign Markets
European stocks fell. The FTSE 100 was down 3.2%, Germany's DAX fell 6.8%, and the Paris CAC plummeted 8.0%.

Asian markets also had heavy losses. The Shanghai Composite lost 1.1%, the Nikkei 225 fell 7.9%, while the Hang Seng was off 2.9%.