Dismal retail sales data report drives FTSE 100 higher and pound lower as rate-cut fever builds

London stocks rose and the pound fell on Friday, after disappointing sales data drove up expectations for an interest-rate cut when the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meets at the end of the month. The FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX) rose 0.9% to 7,678.24, and was poised to gain 1.2% for the week. “Economists were expecting an increase of 0.5%, so the reading was a big miss on forecasts,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, in a note to clients.