Ftse hits new record as grocery shares climb

Christmas spending at UK supermarkets and weak sterling helped boost London’s Ftse 100 blue-chip index, which hit fresh record highs yesterday, as other European shares also ended slightly in positive territory.

The Ftse 100 rose 0.5% after hitting an all-time high 7,284.81 points. France’s Cac 40 was flat and Germany’s Dax added 0.2%.

The Iseq Overall index rose 0.3% to 6,596.12. Coming on the heels of its best performance relative to the Stoxx Europe 600 Index in three decades, the Ftse 100 has climbed 1.9% this month as a further slump in sterling boosted UK exporters, and commodity producers rallied.