Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund - which had warned a Leave vote would trigger a recession in the UK - tells the BBC:

As Britain votes to leave the European Union, political figures from around the world react to the news.

Image source, BIS

Global uncertainty from the Brexit vote "can be contained", according to the Bank of International Settlements - the central bank of central banks.

The Swiss-based institution says it's confident that good cooperation in the banking sector can help with the high volatility.

Image source, Twyford Cookers

Ian Norman of Twyford Cookers - a Herefordshire retailer selling upmarket kitchen appliances - has given his view of the Brexit vote:

"We think the exit from the EU is a mistake and will cause a year - possibly two - of continued hard times. The main issue for us will be the uncertainty in consumers' minds about the future which will lead to an even more cautious spending pattern," he says.

"We do believe, however, that there will be a steady recovery from the current initial over-reaction and that we will settle down again. The British are stalwart in nature and always up for coping with the unexpected."

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, Reuters

Has business been crying wolf? Heavily weighted to the Remain side, the voices of business Britain and corporate Caledonia raised a lot of serious concerns about the economic consequences of Brexit.

They lost the vote. And now, they're telling us they can cope with the upheaval that's being thrown at them.

That's because they have to.

For the full blog, click here.

BBC Breakfast's Steph McGovern tweets...

Image source, Reuters

Today's falls were much heavier on the FTSE 250, which is regarded as a better barometer of UK businesses than the global titans on the FTSE 100.

The index closed at 16,088 points - down 7.2% or 1,245 points.

That was the biggest daily slide for the index, and equated to £25bn being wiped off the value of its companies, according to the LSE.

UK bank Aldermore was the biggest loser (falling 32%), along with Virgin Money (down 25%). 

Property developers also fared badly, with Crest Nicholson down 26%, Derwent London falling 25% and Bellway off 24%.

Image source, Getty Images

Despite the turbulence, plenty of FTSE 100 stocks ended the day in positive territory.

Drug makers GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca were among the big winners, both rising more than 3%. British American Tobacco, Unilever, and publisher Pearson also made gains.

Laith Khalaf, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says the winners were "predominantly companies with lots of overseas earnings, which stand to benefit from a weaker pound".  

Image source, Getty Images

The UK's biggest house builders took a walloping on the markets today. 

They accounted for four of the five biggest losers on the FTSE 100, as investors judged them to be the most exposed to UK economic shocks.

Taylor Wimpey was the worst hit (down 29%), followed by Persimmon (28%), Barratt (24%) and the Berkeley Group (21%).

British Airways owner IAG was another big loser, falling 23% after it issued a profit warning following the referendum outcome. 

Major UK banks were also badly hit. Lloyds fell 21%, while Barclays and RBS both slid 18%. HSBC, which has a large Asian business, fell just 1.4%.

Image source, Reuters

Now that the FTSE has closed, here's a bit of context.

When David Cameron announced the EU referendum on 20 February:

- The FTSE 100 was at 5,950 points. It closed at 6,138, having dropped as low as 5,806 earlier in the day.

- The yield on 10-year UK government bonds stood at 1.41%. A short while ago it stood at a record low of 1.018%.

- The pound was worth $1.44. This is where the clearest impact from the EU vote has been felt - sterling is currently down 8.3% against the dollar at $1.3639.

Business Live reader Ed Clinkett emails to ask: 

"I would like to know how much is the exit going to cost us as taxpayers?"

Answers on a postcard please...

The FTSE 100 has ended the day at 6,138.69 points, down 199 points. That's still considerably higher than the 5,806 it touched earlier this morning.

European markets have been well and truly spanked, however, with the Dax in Frankfurt down 6.8% - its worst day since the financial crisis in 2008, the Cac in Paris shed 8%, Madrid fell 12%, while Milan takes the wooden spoon with a 12.5% plunge.

Wall Street is also lower lower, with the S&P down 2.7% and the Dow 2.1% lower.

Image source, Reuters

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, says it has been monitoring events in the UK and that "more study" will be needed to fully understand the implications of the Brexit vote.

Sterling is down 6.6% against the yuan this afternoon.

Image source, AP

Pimco, the world's largest bond fund, has become the latest to predict that the Bank of England could cut interest rates to zero as a way of boosting the economy.

"Near-term, the UK economy will be pulled lower by the uncertainty created by the referendum vote. As a result, we expect the Bank of England to cut the official interest rate to zero from 0.5%," writes Mike Amey, external, head of sterling at Pimco.  

However, he expects a period of "greater relative calm" in the medium term as the transition to life outside the EU will take time to negotiate.

Image source, Getty Images

Brexit may not be all doom and gloom for the top of the London property market, according to Guy Gittins at estate agency Chestertons.

"We are already seeing a renewed appetite from cash-rich Europeans and people dealing in dollars, who will certainly be in a strong position on the back of currency value swings. We put out a briefing to clients today, and in just a few hours we’ve registered a huge number of new buyers keen to look at all price ranges and locations," he says.

"Prices had levelled off to a fair degree as the referendum drew near and uncertainty over the outcome mounted, so I would predict that house prices in the most sought-after locations should stay pretty much where they are."

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS, is running out of steam...

Image source, PA

Sports Direct has put out a stock market announcement to say it will be affected by market volatility - in particular "material changes to sterling/dollar exchange rates" - caused by the UK's decision to leave the EU.

This is likely to "impact purchases for which the company is currently not hedged", the retailer said.

Shares in Sports Direct are down 16% with about 30 minutes of trading to go.

Clothing retailers have warned that the pound's steep drop - down 7.2% against the dollar a short while ago - will make imported materials more expensive.

Business presenter Tanya Beckett is in Frankfurt assessing the reaction to Brexit: