Ananova:

Commentators talked of a stock market boom to mirror the 1990s after the FTSE 100 Index broke through the 6,000 mark.

Gains of more than 50 points were achieved by the Footsie at one stage as the rush of takeover interest in UK firms continued and profits from companies in the financial services sector impressed investors.

But enthusiasm cooled during the afternoon as investors banked profits, leaving the Footsie just below the threshold at 5999.4 - up 6.2 points on the day.

The Footsie last broke through the 6,000 barrier in March 2001, before the bursting of the dotcom bubble sent it spinning to a low of 3287 two years later.

Its recovery has been driven by strong commodity prices and a burst of corporate activity - seen mostly recently in takeover deals for historic industrial giants such as gases firm BOC, glass-maker Pilkington and shipping icon P&O.

The willingness of the UK's largest firms such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell to return surplus cash to shareholders while taking a disciplined approach to acquisitions has also been credited by analysts as a key reason for the rally.

Clem Chambers, chief executive of trading website ADVFN, said: "Even with all the worries in the world economy - from war in Iraq to potential plague from avian flu - the FTSE 100 has been experiencing a rally to match the height of the stock market boom in the late 1990s."

Today's early surge by the Footsie caught analysts by surprise and was triggered by glowing results from insurer Legal & General, following on from a strong performance by Prudential on Thursday.

Delight at the stronger-than-expected figures from Legal sent its share price up by more than 7%, while the Pru advanced 7% and Norwich Union owner Aviva racked up a 3% gain.

Vodafone highlighted another reason why the market is thriving when it said it would return £6 billion to shareholders, following the £8.9 billion sale of its Japanese operation to internet company Softbank.