In the end it could have been worse. The FTSE 100 has closed down 66.5 points at 5699.9, having at one point been as low as 5655.7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is around 40 points lower at the moment.
Worse-than-expected US jobless figures were outweighed by news that the US Federal Reserve had made moves to improve liquidity. Rumours of a rate cut by the Fed have so far proved groundless.
Miners are among the main fallers on worries that a prolonged US slowdown will hit demand, with BHP Billiton, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources and Anglo American all down around 4% each.
The leading index has now been in the red in eight out of the last nine trading sessions, and is at its lowest level since January 23. Next week investors have the budget to look forward to, not to mention more UK retail sales and house price reports, and another speech from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. So one thing can be predicted - expect the volatility to continue.
