Footsie ends stormy week with a whimper

The FTSE 100 Index ended a volatile week with a whimper yesterday as shares struggled for direction on both sides of the Atlantic.

By the close, the Footsie was up 18 points at 4227.3 after drifting in a narrow range for all of the session.

However, the blue-chip index is still more than 150 points lower than Monday's starting point after lingering concerns about the health of the global economy played on the minds of traders.