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Asian shares are down as traders watch UK referendum vote Asian shares see severe falls ahead of UK referendum result
(35 minutes later)
Asian shares head lower as traders across Asia keep a close eye on the results from the British referendum on whether to leave the European Union. Asian shares have fallen sharply as the UK referendum on EU membership sees the Leave campaign take the lead.
After initial gains, Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 3.1% to 15,742.40. After initial gains, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 6.7% to 15,148.51 points.
The yen jumped higher to stand at 101.00 to the dollar, having been as low as 106.81 at one stage earlier in the day. With the majority of votes counted, the BBC forecasts that the UK has voted for their country to leave the European Union.
The currency is seen as a safe haven and is expected to strengthen if the UK were to leave the European Union. Investor sentiment is unhinged by the looming uncertainty on global markets should the UK leave the bloc.
In South Korea, the Kospi index was 2% lower at 1,945.21. As the British pound hits its lowest levels since 1985, the yen is surging, seen by investors as a safe haven.
Australia's ASX/200 fell sharply by 3% to 5,122.40 points. Analysis: Karishma Vaswani, Asia business correspondent
In China, the mainland Shanghai Composite was down 1.3% to 2,853.79 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 3.3% to 20,189.23. It wasn't supposed to be like this, one trader in Singapore told me this morning. His clients had priced in a Remain vote, and were - as he put it - pretty "complacent" about the results from the EU Referendum.
But as the results started trickling in, the mood has most definitely soured. Another trader told me that activity on the firm's trading desk in Australia was so frenetic, that Singapore had to start taking some of the calls. Investors are in panic mode.
It's the same all over Asia. Shares sensitive to what goes on in the British economy and that are listed in London and in HK like Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Prudential and Glencore all taking a hit as investors sell, sell, sell and pour their money into traditional safe bets like gold.
Investors in Asia are on edge today, as they try and make sense of the results coming in from the UK. As one market watcher in Singapore told me, the last time there was this much chopping and changing in the markets was during the "Great Fall of China's stocks" last summer.
In South Korea, the Kospi index was 3.6% lower at 1,916.07. The Korean won has dropped the most against the US dollar since October 2011.
Australia's ASX/200 fell sharply by 3.4% to 5,100.00 points.
In China, the mainland Shanghai Composite was down 1.2% to 2,857.58 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down sharply 4.7% to 19,894.12 points.