Bullish investors had this week sent the benchmark index surging to its highest level since December 1999, taking it back to levels not seen since the infamous dotcom bubble.

So the FTSE 100 finished down 143.48 points at 6696.79, a 2.1% decline which marks its worst daily performance since exactly a year ago.

Until today, the FTSE 100 had risen 16pc so far this year and some had feared a correction - a sharp, rapid fall in the market - was overdue.

According to Ingram's calculations, over the fourteen years since the FTSE 100 was last at 6800, its companies have paid out the equivalent of another 2400 in dividends.

But analysts have been warning that the recent bull run of shares - which on Wednesday saw the FTSE 100 surge to its second-highest ever close - was bound for a correction amid the continuing malaise in the wider economy.

A day after the FTSE 100 reached its best level since September 2000, London's benchmark index surged a further 48.24 points to 6,803.87, taking the main board to another significant milestone.

The FTSE 100 Index surged to its second-highest ever close today amid further signs central banks will keep the printing presses rolling.

Should the FTSE 100 finish above 6,798.1 - its close on September 4, 2000 - then it would be at its best level since December 30, 1999, when it reached an all-time high.

Overall the FTSE 100 finished 32.57 points higher at 6755.63, pushing through the peak of 6732 seen in 2007 and reaching its highest level since September 2000, just as the dotcom bubble was about to burst.

The FTSE 100, which has a much greater exposure to the world economy than it does to the British economy, has been boosted by central bank interest rate cuts and quantitative easing around the world.