The FTSE index in London has slumped almost 100 points as worried investors put back nearly all of the previous session's gains.
Fears over Iraq again dominated the mood. With profit takers surfacing after yesterday's £29 billion rise, and Wall Street opening sharply lower, the Footsie closed down 99.3 points at 3590.1.
Insurers were again feeling the pressure. Norwich Union owner Aviva was off 17.25p at 413p and Friends Provident eased 7p at 91.25p, while Royal & Sun Alliance fell 8p to 96p.
Other fallers included British Airways, off 5.75p to 114p, as low-cost rival Ryanair announced another set of bumper earnings and raised its expectations for full year pre-tax profits.
Allied Domecq fell 10%, or 34.5p to 309p, after warning that higher pension costs, lower profits in its Spanish business and adverse currency movements would leave annual profits flat. And, BOC fell 35p to 745p as the company also issued quarterly figures at the lower end of hopes.
Abbey National announced it had sold its consumer credit business First National for £848 million. The deal with the US-based General Electric Company conglomerate cheered investors initially with a 10p rise, but the shares closed down 9p at 409p.
And blue-chip retailer Boots fell 10.5p to 525p on the day it announced the closure of its factory in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, with the loss of 1,000 jobs.
Outside the top flight index, tour operator MyTravel announced it was considering cutting up to 700 of its 15,00. Shares fell almost 6%, down 1.25p to 21p, following the news. Bookham was another firm to announce job cuts - up to 200 in an effort to reduce costs - but shares rose 0.5p to 77.5p.
The top Footsie risers were Daily Mail and General Trust up 13p at 542.5p, Xstrata up 6p at 556p, BAA up 3.5p at 446.5p, Alliance UniChem up 3p at 401p and Bunzl up 1.5p at 365.5p.
The leading fallers were Invensys down 5.5p at 47p, Allied Domecq down 34.5p at 309p, Amvescap down 33p at 323.5p, Legal & General down 6.75p at 73.75p and Royal & Sun Alliance down 8p at 96p.