THE US stock market finished one of the wildest weeks in years with modest losses, as bank executives tried to rally investor confidence.

It was the kind of week when oil futures crashed to their lowest levels since 2003 and registered their biggest gain since 2009 - all in the space of 24 hours. Global banks such as Deutsche Bank traded below the levels during the aftermath of Lehman Brothers, when complete failure of the banking system was an imminent possibility and then added billions of dollars to their value in a single session.

Now, the question is whether Friday's euphoria put an end to the panic, or was just another part of it.