FTSE 100 plunges 21%
The FTSE 100 Index suffered its worst week since 1987 - a fall of 21% - as investors dived for cover in the face of mounting global recession fears.
The week began bleakly when the Footsie slumped almost 8% in its biggest fall since the Black Monday crash.
A £400bn bank rescue package for banks and an emergency cut in interest rates failed to revive the market. The FTSE closed at a five-year low of 3932.1.
Bank share prices swung wildly in febrile market conditions as several European governments stepped in to bail out ailing financial institutions.
Banks slumped on Tuesday before gaining ground on news of the Government's bank rescue on Wednesday. However, they then went sharply into reverse on Friday.
RBS was worst affected and lost 61% of its value to finish the week at 71¾p. Barclays slumped 44%, HBOS shed 38%.
Well-capitalised HSBC was less damaged by the banking turmoil than its rivals during the crisis-hit week.
HSBC, which has a stronger balance sheet than others in the sector, said it had no need of taxpayer help as it pumped £750m into its UK subsidiary.
Despite tight conditions in money markets, HSBC also lent around £4bn in long-term funds to other banks this week. It finished 15% lower at 790p.
Miners lost a large slice of their value this week as fears over weaker economic growth led to a slump in share prices in the sector.
Kazakhmys was down 41% and Rio Tinto fell almost 29%. A fall in oil prices to almost $80 a barrel meant Royal Dutch Shell and BP both fell by 19%.
Falling oil prices should have lifted British Airways, but the stock fell 33% to 110p amid fears over the economy.
Supermarket chain Sainsbury's lost more than a quarter of its value, despite reassuring investors with a decent second-quarter trading performance.
Like-for-like sales rose 4.3% in the 16 weeks to October 4, but shares sank on the prospect of tougher conditions.
Shares ended the week at 240p amid uncertainty caused by the forced sale of shares by tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, who held a 10% stake in the company.