It is only the third nationwide referendum in Britain’s history and comes after a four-month battle for votes between the “Leave” and “Remain” campaigns. Britain’s benchmark stock index, the FTSE 100, was up 1.6 percent at 6,362.
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The pound, which experts say would face a sharp drop in case of an European Union exit, rose to its highest level this year, to around $1.4900.
The oil-rich nation has signed up to the European Economic Area agreement and thereby access to the EU’s huge single market.
Peter Carlyon, 22, who was campaigning to stay in the European Union in central London, said Thursday’s vote was “a once in a generation” chance.
“Japan’s Nikkei is outperforming thanks to the Yen holding below recent highs, the currency in less demand as a safehaven from Brexit concerns and so exporters getting the usual competitive boost”.
Two other polls published on the eve of the referendum – both conducted over the Internet – had put the “Leave” camp ahead by one or two percentage points, well within the margin of error.
With numerous fundamental questions of the debate in dispute by the opposing “Leave” and “Remain” camps, the outcome may come down to a question of gut instinct for voters.
If Britain remains in the EU, Prime Minister David Cameron has already warned that he will return to Brussels to push for more reform on freedom of movement on top of the renegotiation deal that he secured in February.
Britain’s referendum on leaving the European Union (EU) is “too close to call” as a string of polls showed neither “ayes” nor “noes” clearly ahead.
An estimated 46,499,537 people are entitled to take part in the vote – a record number for a United Kingdom poll.
Older voters are more likely to back Brexit, with nearly twice as many people aged over 65 set to vote for leaving the European Union than those under 35.
The 12 regions comprise Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, London and eight English regions. A large turnout will favour the “remain” campaign as those who waver at the end tend to go for the status quo. London’s Fire Brigade received hundreds of calls of weather-related incidents early Thursday, including some reports of flooding and lighting strikes.
“Leave” advocates say a Britain cut loose from the European Union will be able to rein in high levels of immigration and take back power from Brussels, while the “Remain” camp warns of a huge economic shock if Britain abandons the bloc.
Prime Minister David Cameron ignored questions about the weather, saying only “Good morning” to the gathered media from across the world, as he and wife Samantha cast their votes at Methodist Hall in Westminster.
The leaders of the main opposition Labour Party and the popular Scottish National Party want to stay in the EU.
The often aggressive tone of the debate has caused disquiet in many quarters, particularly after the murder of pro-European lawmaker Jo Cox last week, but political analysts are expecting a high turnout. His last minute decision to run for re-election set off a scramble – though much smaller – to get out of the Senate.
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Polls are open until 10pm (2100 GMT), with the first results from local counts expected in the early hours of tomorrow and the final result around 7am tomorrow.
