Wall Street opens sharply lower after Brexit vote

US stock indexes opened sharply lower on Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union, sparking turmoil in markets unseen since the 2008 financial crisis.

Investors fled to safe-harbor assets such as gold and US Treasury bonds, while dumping risky ones such as equities and oil.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 243.04 points, or 1.35%, at 17,768.03, the S&P 500 34.25 points, or 1.62%, at 2,079.07 and the Nasdaq composite 192.73 points, or 3.93%, at 4,717.31.