Weekly Market Commentary 06/24/2016

The surprising Brexit vote took center stage this week, roiling financial markets both here and abroad. In the days leading up to the vote, U.S. stocks rallied sharply amid heightened expectations that citizens of the U.K. would choose to stay in the European Union. Investors tend to favor the status quo and abhor uncertainty, which clearly would result from a vote to leave the E.U. So it comes as no surprise that markets slumped when the results came in Friday morning, showing that the Brexit contingent garnered well over 50% of the votes. Stocks plunged, bond yields fell and the dollar and gold spiked higher, all time-honored signs that investors were fleeing risky assets for safe havens.