London shares hit five year high as Wall Street regains all lost ground since the collapse of Lehman Brothers The FTSE 100 closed 86.32 points, or 1.36 per cent, higher at 6,431.95 Dow Jones beats record high set before the financial crisis in 2008 Markets were buoyed by good news on vast US services sector Britain's blue chip share index hit a new five-year high today as markets in the United States and around Europe continued this year's surge. The FTSE 100 closed 86.32 points, or 1.36 per cent, higher at 6,431.95, after better-than-expected service sector data lifted investors' spirits and eased concerns of a triple-dip recession. The London was also boosted this afternoon by a strong start on Wall Street: the Dow Jones smashed past it's a previous record high set before the financial crisis in 2008. Recession beaters: Stock markets around the world have steadily risen since the start of the year The index reached 14,226, fully recovering the ground that was lost in the wake of the credit crunch, the collapse of Lehman Brothers" and the eurozone debt crisis. It has now exceeded the previous record intra-day high of 14,198, which was set in October 2007, and has more than doubled in value since its low of 6547 in March 2009 at the peak of the sub-prime crisis. Markets were buoyed by news that the vast US services sector accelerated in February at its fastest rate in a year as new orders picked up and demand for exports grew. Comments from Janet Yellen, vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve board of governors improved sentiment as well. She said the central bank will "keep monetary policy highly accommodative until well into the recovery." China's record spending plans also cheered markets as the Chinese government said it will increase spending to support the country's economy after a fall in growth last year. But this does not mean that the worries are over. Unemployment remains stubbornly high, the US has still to recover from its credit rating downgrade and worries over further debt ceilings lie ahead. The market rally comes in spite of recent warnings from Barack Obama that the so-called sequester - which has forced him to sign off budget cuts worth billions of dollars - is likely to damage US prospects for recovery. James Hughes, chief market analyst at currency broker Alpari said: "Today's move came after a positive start to the trading day in Europe and Asia helped to push US index futures higher and led to a positive open on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 index has broken through a peak of three weeks ago to take it to five-year highs. The Dow Jones has more than doubled in value since hitting lows during the financial crisis in March 2009. Despite ongoing worries about the strength of the US economy, further debt ceiling worries and the countries stagnant GDP growth, it seems investors have shrugged off the fears in favour of relentless buying in the face of financial hardship. Brenda Kelly, Market Analyst at IG said: "The wish of the bulls was finally realised today with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging northwards to hit a new intraday high. The question now is whether or not, in the cold light of underlying fundamentals, this level of positivity can be sustained and what degree of profit-taking there will be. Dovish comments from the US Fed vice chairman last night have definitely helped to underpin London equity markets, with the FTSE 100 succeeding in breaching the 6400 level. Eurozone PMI data also acted as a timely boon, beating expectations with a reading of 47.9 versus the 47.3 consensus.