"As a result, it will now be hard for the government - whatever shape that government will be - to start talking to the European Union in nine days time as planned without rethinking its strategy".
The exit polls also mark an unexpected rise for Corbyn, who has hung on as Labour leader through several attempts from senior members of his party to oust him.
Reacting to the news, Paul Donovan, the chief economist at UBS Wealth Management, said that the United Kingdom result is unlikely to provide "strong and stable leadership".
May called an election three years ahead of schedule, at a time when her party was well ahead in the polls.
Conservative hopes of claiming seats like Bolton North East - where Mrs May launched her campaign in April - quickly disappeared in a humiliating night for the Prime Minister, though Conservative Chris Green did retain his Bolton West seat.
Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn was victorious in a close race against May, giving the left-leaning party the majority in the British Parliament. His party grew the most over the course of Thursday's election, with Labour adding more than 30 seats to its Parliamentary total. The DUP said it would engage with May, an indication that no deal had yet been done, though May had sought Queen Elizabeth's permission to form government. "Our Labour MPs would vote for it and we would call on the other parties to vote for it as well". The Liberal Democrats (12) and the SNP (35) have declined to prop up the Conservatives in power. Meanwhile a minority or Conservative-led coalition government may have to compromise on the pace of fiscal consolidation or specific policy measures to maintain parliamentary support (the reversal of proposals to increase social contributions for the self-employed in March's budget highlighted a degree of inflexibility in fiscal policy making).
History Professor Margaret MacMillan from Oxford University said: "If the numbers stay as they are, it's probably going to be the end of Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party".
Celebrities air their views on the UK election result
Protocol dictates that May must now put a "Queen's speech" to a vote in Parliament to officially establish her new government . However, no party received the absolute majority of seats in parliament and the election has resulted in a hung parliament .
It was after the PM made a U-turn on the so-called dementia tax - leaving many to call her dishonest.
"We are ready to serve the people who have put their trust in us", he said.
In the blue corner - traditional color of the Conservative Party - is May, a 60-year-old lawmaker known in her party as a quietly effective operator.
The stunning election results and the prospect that the European Union will now be negotiating with a shaky British government cast dark clouds over the Brexit negotiations just ten days before they are due to start.
'We need a government that can act, ' EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain.
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