A day after the FTSE 100 came within 90 points of its December 1999 peak, the index has slumped nearly 2%, down 117.80 points at 6722.47.

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.

So having climbed as high as 6875, the FTSE 100 finished 36.4 points higher at 6840.27, just 90 points from its peak of 6930 reached on 30 December 1999.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After having reached a new 12-year high earlier in the week, the FTSE 100 has suffered this morning due to a knock-on effect from Japan's Nikkei stock exchange, which fell more than 7% overnight.