Spain’s fragile economy has been shaken by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, as the country’s stock exchange fell to its lowest ever point on Friday morning, mirroring markets around the world.
The IBEX fell by 16 percent on Friday, surpassing its previous biggest ever plunge of 10 percent as Spain’s financial papers christened the day “Black Friday for the markets”.
It marks the biggest fall in the Spanish stock market’s 24-year-history.
Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday tried to allay fears over the tumbling markets, saying: “Spain now has solid economic foundations to bear the financial turbulences provoked by Brexit. We are prepared.”
Some of Spain’s biggest companies have seen their shares fall considerably; telecommunications company Telefonica fell by 18 percent, while electric utility company Iberdrola and CaixaBank fell by 20 percent and Santadnar, 25 percent.
The situation was repeated across Europe, where the German DAX fell by 10 percent – its biggest fall since the 2008 economic crash – and the FTSE 100 by around 9 percent.
Britain voted 52 percent for leaving the European Union and 48 percent for remain.
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