​Lisbon, June 24 (IANS) Portugal's stock market fell to 20-year-lows in early trading Friday as a reaction to the UK's referendum decision to leave the European Union (EU).

The PSI-20 principal index fell close to 11 per cent to 4.17 points in early trading, its lowest level since January 1996, EFE news reported.

Shares in Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP), in which Spain's Banco Sabadell has a participation, tumbled more than 17 per cent to trade at just 1.7 euro cents per share.

Analysts are pointing to the so-called Brexit as being responsible for market turbulence across the world, with investors moving money to secure assets such as gold and German bonds.​