The FTSE 100 Index has tumbled back towards the 5,000 mark in another punishing session for UK blue chip shares.
Banks led the top tier lower after US senators passed new laws to rein in Wall Street - billed as the most far-reaching restraints on big banks since the Great Depression.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 3.6 per cent on Thursday night amid fears over the impact on profits and the FTSE 100 followed it into the red on Friday, off 45.5 points to 5027.7, as persistent eurozone concerns added to the pressure.
Lower-than-expected UK public borrowing figures for April failed to provide any cheer on the FTSE 100, with the pound struggling to hold its ground at 1.44 dollars and 1.15 euros after a volatile week in the currency markets.
Among stocks, banks led the FTSE 100 lower as it headed for its third consecutive session of heavy falls, having so far lost around 300 points this week.
Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland was the worst hit in the sector, down 1.59p to 43.23p, followed by fellow taxpayer-backed player Lloyds Banking Group, which shed 1.85p to 53.05p.
Standard Chartered and HSBC were also under pressure, off 48.5p to 1569.5p and 15.7p to 616.3p respectively.
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