London's top-flight fell for the fourth day in a row as disappointing economic data from China dragged on commodity stocks though oil prices stabilised.

The FTSE 100 Index was 2.4% lower on the week including the impact of a broad sell-off in Thursday's session as a military flare-up in the Middle East pushed the price of a barrel of Brent crude towards 60 US dollars.

The index was 40.3 points lower at 6855 today as the oil price edged down to around 58 US dollars but overnight figures from China showed a sharp decline in industrial profits.

It meant the FTSE registered another day of losses as the buoyant mood which saw it top the 7,000 landmark last week - and achieve further record highs at the start of this one - ebbed away.

On currency markets, the pound was bolstered by remarks from Bank of England governor Mark Carney that he expected the next move in interest rates to be up.

It echoed similar comments from a series of Bank policy makers this week offering reassurance over fears about the potential negative consequences of low inflation after figures showed it fell to zero in February.

Sterling rose against the dollar at just under 1.49, but was flat against the euro at 1.36.

Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 finished the week with a positive session after a tough week.

In London, data from China, adding to concerns about a slowdown in the world's second biggest economy, weighed on commodity stocks.

Anglo American led the top-flight fallers as it dropped 3%, or 32.5p to 1044p, while Randgold Resources was not far behind, off 146p at 4756p. Glencore fell 9.05p at 288.15p with Rio Tinto down 67.5p to 2809.5p.

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FTSE heads for fourth day in red