Market overview: Footsie down 381
Friday 10 Oct 2008

1645: Footsie ended a bad week with more losses, falling to its lowest level for more than five years, as fears of a global recession gripped the global markets. European markets slipped around 7% while Wall Street’s Dow is currently down 5%. HBOS continued its volatile path, shedding almost one-fifth of its value as it falls way below the price indicated by Lloyds TSB’s all-share offer for the company. Barclays was another to suffer a double-digit percentage fall after it confirmed it is considering a number of options, including a possible fund raising. Rumours persist that the bank is looking to raise funds from existing shareholders as a means to boost its tier 1 ratio to the levels required by the government. FTSE 100 fell 381 points to 3932.

1620: Footsie's attempt at a rally proved all to brief and the index is heading for its worst week ever. Schroders, Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS lead the rout but it is a bleak picture everywhere. Dow Jones briefly rose but is now 350 lower. FTSE 100 down 358 at 3,596.

1510: Huge fluctuations on the Dow in the first hour have left UK investors more than a little puzzled. The Dow started 700 points lower, but is now up on the day. Footsie is starting to rally but is still deep in the red. Schroders, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland are the worst hit. Sage and Marks & Spencer are the least affected. FTSE 100 down 268 at 4,048.