The London stock market has suffered its biggest weekly losses since the start of the global pandemic in March 2020, as investors took fright at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

Shares plunged in the City following news of a fire and Russian capture of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, with the one-day drop of more than 250 points in the FTSE 100 index taking the weekly loss to 6.7%.

European bourses also recorded big falls amid concerns that the impact of the fighting in Ukraine would spread westwards across the continent. David Malpass, president of the World Bank, told the BBC the war was a “catastrophe” for the global economy.

Currency and commodity markets also ended the week amid fresh signs of turbulence,…