London - Shares on the London stock market plunged sharply Friday, with the Financial Times Share Index nearly 400 points down, falling to 3,887.7 points.

The plunge of nearly 10 per cent saw the FTSE-Index fall below the 4,000-point mark for the first time in five years.

Two days after the government's major bail-out package, bank shares fell dramatically, with Barclays, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland among the main losers. (dpa)