On Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s Tokyo trading floor, traders spent most of the day on edge, with the atmosphere getting tenser with every tick in the market.

Pound drops, yen, gold surge as results from Britain’s EU referendum showed stronger-than-anticipated support for Brexit

Bond and currency traders are holding off from making large wagers as partial results from Britain’s European Union referendum intensified concerns the U.K. will exit, creating a liquidity drought that’s exaggerating price moves.

European stock markets dived when they opened tonight.In London, the main stock index, the FTSE 100, nosedived 8.7 percent to 5,790 points shortly after the open. The British pound, which trades around the clock, has plunged to...

The pound strengthened to the highest level this year while the yen weakened as early polls reinforced speculation the U.K. voted to remain in the European Union.

U.K. lenders HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc plunged in Hong Kong trading, leading Asian bank shares lower as Britain’s vote to exit the European Union touched off turmoil across financial markets.