Having faced significant turmoil in the recent past, the FTSE 100 had taken a well-documented fall and dropped below the 5,000 level. However, Friday, September 19, will go down in the history books as one of the best days ever for money being invested in the UK stock market.

The FTSE 100 rose by 431.3 points, a huge gain of nearly 9 per cent, led by banking shares rebounding on news that they would be protected from short-selling. Selling shares short is essentially the practice of speculators selling shares which they do not own in order to buy them back more cheaply later. This trading strategy has been heavily criticised in some quarters and the proposed introduction of legislation to prevent it has been welcomed by some. Conversely, this has been said to be interfering with the free market and does nothing to help with the underlying problems which financial institutions are currently facing.

The Lloyds TSB and HBOS deal announced on September 17 has also been a major news issue and one which has moved the financial markets even further into the spotlight, bringing the stock market on to the front pages once again.

This came hot on the heels of even greater turmoil in the US. There has been a high level of volatility in both Lloyds TSB and HBOS shares in recent weeks, which will have been of interest to many readers as these are among the most popular shares on the market.

The broader stock market has seen wild price movements at times and there has been scope to make or lose money very quickly.

There are few people brave and clever enough to predict which way the market is heading and hindsight is always a wonderful thing. There has been plenty of bad news recently, including the gloom surrounding financial institutions and the downturn in the property market. The economic situation is looking far from ideal. Those looking for positives can at least point to the fact that the oil price has been weak of late and stands well below its peak level of over $147 a barrel. This eases inflationary pressure and is helpful to many industries.

Quite where the market goes from here is impossible to predict. The monumental events of recent weeks continue to highlight the risks of investing in shares, but also the potential for excellent returns for those with good timing.