Fears of a global fallout as a result of a Brexit vote next week led markets lower this afternoon while sterling fell to an eight-week low against the dollar.
Markets in Europe, Asia and US were in the red as polls tightened surrounding the vote on Britain's membership of the EU on 23 June.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7% to 6,070 points with the biggest fallers being Sky, Lloyds Banking Group, Hargreaves Lansdown, 3i and WPP which were all down more than 2%.
In Asia, markets were down significantly with both the Topix and Nikkei down 3.5%, while in the US the S&P 500 was down 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year gilt hit a fresh low after briefly slipping below 1.2% for the first time and sterling fell 1% against the US dollar to $1.4124 - its lowest level since mid-April.
Investors pull £65bn from UK in two months on Brexit fears
Markets have slumped since the middle of last week as investors get increasingly fearful as the referendum approaches. Polls are indicating that the vote is neck and neck as the 'leave' campaign gains traction.
According to Betfair on 13 June, the 'remain' vote fell from 78% to 64% while 'leave' increased its odds to 36%.
The falling markets has led to investors seeking safe havens such as the Japanese yen and gold.
Managers eye strongly-performing gilts as Brexit vote protection play
Others are taking short positions in euro and sterling alongside long trades in US dollar and yen.
The uncertainty and volatility has also led the VIX index, a measure of investors' views on how much the value of the currency will change in the next four weeks, to reach the highest levels since the financial crisis.
