By close of business on Wednesday, Persimmon, the listed British housebuilder, had enjoyed two consecutive days of popularity on the London stock market. The first was on Tuesday when its shares soared by 4 per cent, following news that profits were up 29 per cent and that demand for its new homes had held following the UK's vote to leave the European Union.

The good news ensured its shares enjoyed a second day of growth on Wednesday, when they added a further 2.2 per cent, despite the fact the overall market fell.

Given its business and its close relationship to property, Persimmon was obviously expected to suffer as a result of the Brexit vote and its shares tumbled to 1,520 pence in the poll’s immediate wake from 2,098 pence the previous day. On Wednesday they were back at 1,911p, not quite what they were ahead of the referendum on June 23rd, but still worth a lot more than their close on the Friday everyone learned the result. Whatever does transpire between the EU and UK, it’s clear that investors – as they almost always do – initially over-reacted to the vote’s outcome.

Positive outlook

There is every possibility that their reaction to Persimmon’s results was also over-done, although this time they had something to go on, that is, a set of figures showing a strong recent performance and backing up a positive outlook. On June 24th, they just panicked.

The fact is nobody knows what is going to happen next. When, or if, the UK, in whole or in part, leaves the EU, people are still going to need homes. Whether or not they will buy them at the rate at which Persimmon and its peers are now supplying them, nobody can tell.

This applies across the board, to virtually every sector, if not every quoted stock, and it makes the future murkier than ever. However, fund managers are going to continue second guessing what that future holds. Thus you can expect plenty more panicked sell-offs and sudden revivals before the Brexit question is finally resolved.