FTSE 100 more concerned about the higher Pound than the UK sales data?

The FTSE 100 futures have not reacted positively to the much better than forecast UK sales data and significantly lower than forecast government borrowing data. Granted the Pound has lifted on the news, but then again so it should given that data. That said, the GBP/USD has not actually made much progress at all so far. Perhaps we have to remember where it is right now and where it has come from over the past couple of weeks? The FTSE 100 was actually the worst performing major European index yesterday in percentage terms, when it closed 0.57% lower, at 8,662.97. That close was 49 points below where it had ended on Wednesday. The index is not priced to effectively open higher this morning and perhaps we can blame the higher Pound for that? The FTSE 100 is not so sensitive to the domestic UK sales data either and it is worth remembering that too. So, it will be interesting to see how the index fares when live trading resumes this morning