The FTSE 100 share index fell 94.3 points on Friday to 6,087.3 (down 1.5 per cent).

Banks fell with Barclays down 1.5 per cent, HBOS down 2.6 per cent, HSBC falling 0.5 per cent and Standard Chartered down 1.4 per cent. Lloyds TSB proved the exception however and rose around one per cent.

Miners fell with Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys, Lonmin, Rio Tinto and Xstrata down 3.3-5.6 per cent.

Oil firms BP and Royal Dutch Shell also fell 2.6 and 1.5 per cent respectively. BG Group also dropped 2.8 per cent while Tullow Oil fell 3.6 per cent.

Some of the gainers of the day included Cable & Wireless up 4.1 per cent and Friends Provident who rose 0.8 per cent.

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, however, saw its share values decline by around two per cent.