The Latest

• Britain’s exit from the European Union shocked global markets.

• The pound plunged to its lowest level since 1985.

• Investors fled risky assets and turned to the dollar and the yen.

• The vote could be a sign that major democracies are vulnerable to the influence of populist political movements.

In Depth

LONDON — No one really knows what happens now. The collective imagination leads to dark places.

The world map has been redrawn with the rules of commerce across Europe, the largest marketplace on earth. Britain’s vote on Thursday to leave the European Union has set in motion an unprecedented and unpredictable process that threatens turbulence and potential crisis — for Britain, for Europe and for the global economy.

Of most immediate consequence, Britain’s vote to leave Europe sent global markets on a wild descent. Investors gaped at this major refashioning of the global landscape and decided it looked perilous — or at least so pockmarked with uncertainty that they preferred to pull their money out of riskier corners like stock markets.