The equity market ended as it had begun with a whimper.
There was no hint that last week's Friday rally would be repeated and the FTSE 100 index slid towards the close on the back of a litany of depressing corporate figures from North America.
The blue-chip index closed a tough week a net 150 points lower than where it started and ended the trading session 50.3 lower at 5,387.1.
That 1 per cent slide was echoed by many of the other indices. The midcap was relatively resilient, falling only 5.9 to 6,085.1 but the All Share fell 20.80 to 2,607.77 and the Techmark 100 12.39 to 1,512.90.
Equities responded to dismal figures from two global technology leaders.
First Microsoft, the software company, said that although full year 2002 profits would be roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts, earnings for the current quarter would fall below consensus estimates.
Then, Nortel, the optical networking company, announced second-quarter numbers that reminded investors how grim life was in the telecoms industry and prompted a sell-off in the fixed line, mobile telephone and telecom equipment sectors.
BT, historically one of the most liquid UK stocks, was down sharply first thing while Vodafone and Marconi were also sold lower.
Once again, some relatively benign domestic data was unable to offset the pain caused by dire figures from global heavyweights.
The latest retail sales figures came in below the consensus forecast and limited the nervousness prompted by high numbers in April and May.
However the market was in no mood for optimism.
Dealers who had been hoping that this week might provide some clues to the end of the bear market were beaten down by the sheer weight of depressing news.
Even the London Stock Exchange, which made its market debut on its own market yesterday, slid away with the rest, as dealers said that institutional investors largely ignored the shares.
Few strategists expect much activity until after the next Federal Reserve Board interest rate meeting in late August.
The sense of dying business was reflected in the overall turnover, which only reached 1.6 billion.
