Safe-haven currencies such as the yen and the Swiss franc, which had gained sharply since last Thursday’s vote, were weaker, although risk sentiment was fragile.

Ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have downgraded their sovereign credit standing, adding to the currency’s dour outlook.

The first EU summit since the vote will be held on Tuesday.

Sterling rose 0.8 percent to $1.3335, climbing from a 31-year low of $1.3122 struck on Monday, a trough not seen since 1985. The pound’s two-day slide on Friday and Monday wasthe biggest in modern history and came as British banks lost a third of their value in just two trading sessions.

“Markets may be heading towards consolidation after experiencing sharp losses within the post Brexit environment,” Morgan Stanley’s head of currency strategy, Hans Redeker, said, noting that sterling had fallen to technically significant levels against many other currencies.

“However, with the downgrade (by S&P) the short-term negative news flow may have reached its peak.”

The euro edged up to $1.1060, recovering from Friday’s three-month low of $1.0912. The single currency is under pressure as Brexit clouds the future of the whole bloc.

With European stock markets starting on a firmer footing on Tuesday, the Australian dollar, seen by many as a proxy for risk sentiment, rose 1 percent to $0.7407.

The dollar rose against the yen, trading at 102.17 yen. On Friday, it had fallen to 99 yen, its lowest since late2013, when it became clear that Britain’s have opted “Leave”.

“The market is experiencing a lull in absence of fresh factors and dollar/yen appears to be holding out well,” Societe Generale director of forex, Kyosuke Suzuki, said.

Central bank policy makers have an opportunity to soothe markets at a European Central Bank Forum in Portugal. Although ECB President Mario Draghi has cut short his appearance there to head to the EU Summit, he is due to speak on “The future of the international monetary and financial architecture”.

– Reuters

From clothing chain stores to automakers, the big names of “Corporate USA” have long flocked to Britain, attracted by its tax advantages and a common language, and by the prospect of accessing the European Union market and its hundreds of millions of consumers.

Unsurprisingly, several large US companies had previously voiced support for Britain to remain in the EU ahead of Thursday’s historic referendum that ended with the opposite, unexpected decision: the first exit of a country from the bloc.

With $56.1 billion in exports in 2015, Britain is the main destination for US goods in the 28-nation European Union. The US services sector, especially banks, also has a strong presence in Britain, especially in the City of London, where Wall Street giants employ tens of thousands of people.

“American companies’ investments in Britain are worth more than half a trillion dollars, and many of those investments were made to reach not just British consumers but those in the European mainland as well,” said Thomas Donohue, head of the US Chamber of Commerce.

Guarantees

The vote in favor of Brexit immediately raised questions about how American companies would deal with the upended European order and whether they would cut back their investments in Britain.

Questioned by AFP, big companies were careful to not rush into judgment on the developing situation but expressed a desire to see more clearly how Britain’s relationship with its former EU partners would work out.

“The UK is an intrinsic part of our European supply chain and we urge all parties to reach an agreement that quickly removes the uncertainty, allows the UK to retain full access to and from the single market,” said Mark Dorsett, manager for Britain at Caterpillar, the mining and construction equipment maker.

That is a crucial issue for US companies: Will Britain continue to benefit from free circulation of goods and people in the EU?

The automaker Ford, which employs 14,000 people in Britain and racks up nearly a fifth of its revenues in the country, certainly hopes so. But it is prepared to switch gears if that proves wrong.

“Ford will take whatever action is needed to ensure that our European business remains competitive and keeps to the path toward sustainable profitability,” said Ford spokesman John Gardiner, stressing no changes to current investment plans had been made so far.

Ford’s rival General Motors, which has production facilities in Europe, also called on Britain and the EU to conclude negotiations on a new partnership “in a timely manner” and said it wanted certain guarantees.

“It is also important that business continues to benefit from the free movement of goods and people during this period,” said Klaus-Peter Martin, a spokesman for the largest US automaker.

Disappointment

A prolonged fall in the British pound, which slumped against the dollar and the euro as markets learned of the Brexit result, could also lead certain American companies to review their strategy.

International transportation services company Penske Automotive Group could be hit by a weaker pound because a third of its revenues are generated in Britain.

“A lower pound would mean lower revenues,” said Anthony Pordon, a vice president of the company, who said that Penske was “disappointed with the result of the vote.”

Xerox, known for its copiers and printers and with a strong presence in Britain, was less specific. The company said it was “looking at the long-term implications” of the Brexit vote.

Echoing comments by some other firms, General Electric said: “We respect the decision of the British people.”

Some preferred silence on the unprecedented action. Casual apparel chain The Gap, which has 131 stores in Britain, and Wal-Mart Stores, which has 625 supermarkets there under the Asda brand, declined to comment.

Running counter to the tide of concerns, the US real-estate sector saw a silver lining in Brexit.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the “isolationist move” will spur wealthy foreigners to consider selling their properties in Britain, especially in London, which could push up demand for luxury properties in the United States.

– AFP

Here are the next steps after “Brexit”:

SAVE THE MARKETS

With the stability of the global economy at risk, early Friday the European Central Bank is widely expected to make a statement to reassure markets.

TOP EU OFFICIALS REACT

The EU’s top officials meet in Brussels at 0830 GMT. EU President Donald Tusk, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament head Martin Schulz and Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country holds the six-month EU presidency, are expected to make a statement and address the press at around 1000 GMT.

MINISTERS TACKLE BREXIT

The EU’s 28 European Affairs Ministers meet in Luxembourg to lay the groundwork for Brexit talks at the EU summit on June 28-29. Talks start at 1230 GMT.

GERMAN SOLUTIONS

Foreign ministers from the EU’s six founding countries — France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg — are expected to meet on Saturday in Berlin, according to European sources.

French President Francois Hollande will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week to discuss “European initiatives”, expected on Monday.

FRANCO-GERMAN INITIATIVE

The Merkel Hollande meet-up could be the occasion to announce plans for a long-rumoured Franco-German initiative on a better integrated defense and security strategy for Europe. The leaders intend to use the plan to shore-up doubts on the EU project unleashed by the British vote campaign.

BRUSSELS ACTS

On Monday the European Commission’s top officials, who are nominated by the EU’s 28 member states, begin mapping out the long road to an official Brexit at an extraoridiary meeting in Brussels.

— MEPs have called for an extraordinary session of European Parliament to be held on Monday also in Brussels in the case of a Brexit vote.

THE ’BREXIT’ SUMMIT

The 28 EU leaders — still including British Prime Minister David Cameron — meet on June 28 and 29 in Brussels to digest and debate the results of the Thursday Leave vote. It was originally due to be held on June 23 but was postponed after the British referendum date was announced.

ENTER SLOVAKIA

On July 1st, the Netherlands hands over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency to the relatively inexperienced Slovakia, which now must lead the negotiations towards Brexit. Britain had been due to take the helm at the end of 2017 but will now give that up.

CRUEL SUMMER

EU civil servants delay summer holidays to begin the painstaking legal work to bring about Brexit. If confirmed, the process to break the UK away from Europe will take at least two years.

– AFP