Investors in European stocks and bonds are gearing up for some big market moves, whatever the outcome of Greece’s referendum.  A first official projection of the referendum outcome, based on early counting, said that at least 61% of Greeks voted “no” to the demands of the country’s international creditors.  With further political wrangling likely to follow the referendum and Greece’s future in the eurozone hanging in the balance, “volatility will no doubt last for a while,” said Giordano Lombardo, chief investment officer at Pioneer Investments, ahead of this weekend’s vote.  Pioneer, which manages EUR226.3 billion ($251.4 billion) of assets, has cut back holdings of Spanish and Italian bonds and stocks to protect its portfolios from any potential selloff after the Greek vote. Assets in those highly indebted countries have been vulnerable in the past to fears that a Greek departure from the eurozone could foreshadow a wider splintering of the currency bloc.  Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said a “no” vote would force Greece’s creditors to compromise. But the creditors, and opposition parties in Greece, have said a rejection of the bailout terms would severely harm the chance of a deal, leaving the country on the brink of an exit from the currency bloc.  That would provoke some heavy stock declines on Monday, investors and analysts said.  “The majority of our clients went into the weekend expecting a ‘yes’ result,” Francesco Garzarelli, co-head of markets research at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note to clients shortly before polls closed Sunday.  He expects a definitive “no” outcome to increase the likelihood of Greece’s exit from the eurozone. Strategists at the bank have previously estimated the Euro Stoxx 50 index of blue-chip eurozone companies could fall by as much as 10% after a “no” vote.  Investors “are prepared for redemptions and have cash on the sidelines, yet few are really prepared for a ‘no’ in my view,” said Alberto Gallo, head of macro credit strategy at RBS, after polls closed…
The Greek debt crisis has dragged on for years, but if ever we were at a deciding point for the country’s future in the euro, this is it. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the fallout from Greece's resounding 'No' vote from our teams in Athens, Brussels, New York and London.