Poor UK sales help lift FTSE 100 futures- Is a new record on the cards this morning?

Yesterday the FTSE 100 joined the gains seen in the DAX and the CAC. The DAX set a new all time record daily close and that was not lost on the FTSE 100. The index reached a high at 8,391.90 and what is more, that is exactly where it closed the session. The futures are higher today and right now pricing an effective reopening well above the highs seen yesterday. In fact that opening call is very close to the record the index set last year, when it peaked at 8,474.41. There seems little doubt; the really poor sales data released a little earlier might be bad for the Pound, but it is clearly supportive for lower UK interest rates and lower bond yields and that is helping to fuel the opening outlook for the FTSE 100. By the looks of it right now, the index could easily set a new all time high later today. We shall have to see if that materialises, but right now the index is priced to effectively reopen around 8,458