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Investing.com - Gold prices ticked higher while the U.S. dollar slipped on Monday in Asia, as traders digested some positive trade headlines from over the weekend.

Both the U.S. and China reported progress in trade negotiations last week, although President Donald Trump said Friday that the talks were “very complicated".

In futures trading, gold's benchmark April contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 0.3% at $1,326.35 per ounce by 1:40 AM ET (06:40 GMT).

Gold futures settled at the highest level in two weeks on Friday, closing at $1,324.75.

The greenback, which has been the preferred safe-haven since the beginning of the Sino-U.S. trade war, traded slightly lower amid hopes for a breakthrough in the trade conflict between the world's two largest economies.

The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies dropped 0.1% to 96.640.

Looking ahead, the Federal Reserve will release minutes of its January policy meeting on Wednesday after surprising markets with a shift to a more dovish outlook on rate hikes for the rest of 2019.

The U.S. central bank left interest rates on hold on Jan. 30 and pledged to be patient with further interest rate hikes, dropping its guidance that ‘further gradual’ rate rises will be needed.

“Looser monetary policies are generally favourable to gold, which has benefited since the Fed paused its tightening path,” said Nicholas Frappell, global general manager at ABC Bullion, in a Business Day report.

“The market will be looking closely at US and China data and I think gold will target a retest of the $1,326 level again,” Frappell added.

Speeches from a number of Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams and St. Louis Fed head James Bullard, are also expected to receive some attention later this week.

Investing.com – Australia stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Energy, Resources and Metals&Mining sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.39%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Automotive Group Holdings Ltd (AX:AHG), which rose 8.56% or 0.140 points to trade at 1.775 at the close. Meanwhile, GWA Group Ltd (AX:GWA) added 4.38% or 0.140 points to end at 3.340 and Ansell Ltd (AX:ANN) was up 4.09% or 0.990 points to 25.210 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Bingo Industries Ltd (AX:BIN), which fell 49.13% or 1.130 points to trade at 1.170 at the close. Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (AX:SIQ) declined 9.18% or 0.900 points to end at 8.900 and Bank Of Queensland Ltd. (AX:BOQ) was down 6.33% or 0.630 points to 9.320.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 599 to 535 and 367 ended unchanged.

Shares in Bingo Industries Ltd (AX:BIN) fell to all time lows; falling 49.13% or 1.130 to 1.170.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, was up 0.03% to 12.735.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.28% or 3.75 to $1325.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.59% or 0.33 to hit $56.31 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.33% or 0.22 to trade at $66.47 a barrel.

AUD/USD was up 0.10% to 0.7146, while AUD/JPY rose 0.29% to 79.00.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 96.645.

Investing.com - The shares of Hong Kong-listed insurance giant Ping An Insurance (HK:2318) jumped almost 3% on Monday after the company said it is launching a low-fee exchange-traded funds (ETF) product.

According to a prospectus and industry data that were cited by Bloomberg, Ping An Fund Management Co., the fund arm, will offer an ETF tracking ChiNext startup stocks with a management fee of 0.15%, far lower than the industry average of 0.5%. Its 0.05% custodian fee is also just half of the 0.1% average.

“Technological upgrades and institutional demand prompted us” to introduce the product, the Ping An unit said in an e-mailed statement that was cited by Bloomberg. ETFs with “appropriate, reasonable fees” are more attractive in the long term and support market stability, it said.

The move echoed the approach of Vanguard Group, which tripled its ETF-market share to 26% in the U.S. over the course of a decade by cutting costs.

Vanguard has now amassed more than $5 trillion of client assets after offering low-cost funds to millions of Americans, Bloomberg noted.

Investing.com – Israel stocks were higher after the close on Sunday, as gains in the Insurance, Biomed and Oil&Gas sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tel Aviv, the TA 35 added 0.71% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the TA 35 were Liveperson (TA:LPSN), which rose 2.53% or 238 points to trade at 9630 at the close. Meanwhile, OPKO Health Inc (TA:OPK) added 2.49% or 25 points to end at 1031 and Gazit Globe Ltd (TA:GZT) was up 2.13% or 61 points to 2927 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nice Ltd (TA:NICE), which fell 1.95% or 830 points to trade at 41720 at the close. Ormat Technologies (TA:ORA) declined 0.24% or 50 points to end at 20750 and Isramco Negev 2 LP (TA:ISRAp) was 0.00% or 0.0 points to 41.0.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange by 236 to 141 and 39 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for April delivery was unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to $55.98 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 2.69% or 1.74 to hit $66.31 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.83% or 10.85 to trade at $1324.75 a troy ounce.

USD/ILS was up 0.06% to 3.6202, while EUR/ILS rose 0.08% to 4.0892.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 96.745.

Investing.com – Saudi Arabia stocks were lower after the close on Sunday, as losses in the Retail, Telecoms&IT and Energy&Utilities sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share declined 0.40%.

The best performers of the session on the Tadawul All Share were Saudi Cable Company (SE:2110), which rose 6.38% or 2.85 points to trade at 47.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Qassim Agriculture Co. (SE:6020) added 4.27% or 0.50 points to end at 12.20 and Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (SE:8150) was up 3.83% or 0.88 points to 23.88 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Co (SE:1330), which fell 9.86% or 0.56 points to trade at 5.12 at the close. Amana Cooperative Insurance Co (SE:8310) declined 3.73% or 0.64 points to end at 16.54 and The Company for Coop. Insurance (SE:8010) was down 2.40% or 1.40 points to 56.90.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 99 to 75 and 15 ended unchanged.

Shares in Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Co (SE:1330) fell to all time lows; losing 9.86% or 0.56 to 5.12. Shares in Allied Cooperative Insurance Group (SE:8150) rose to 3-years highs; rising 3.83% or 0.88 to 23.88.

Crude oil for April delivery was unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to $55.98 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 2.69% or 1.74 to hit $66.31 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.83% or 10.85 to trade at $1324.75 a troy ounce.

EUR/SAR was up 0.03% to 4.2362, while USD/SAR rose 0.01% to 3.7504.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 96.745.

Investing.com - This week precious metal traders will closely monitor movements in the U.S. dollar, one of the biggest drivers for gold, with U.S.-China trade talks continuing in Washington and Federal Reserve minutes and U.S. economic reports on tap.

Both the U.S. and China reported progress in trade negotiations last week, but President Donald Trump said Friday that the talks were “very complicated" and that he might extend the March 1 deadline and keep tariffs on Chinese goods from rising.

U.S. duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are set to rise from 10% to 25% if no deal is reached by the deadline.

The Fed on Wednesday is due to publish the minutes of its January meeting where its kept rates on hold and surprised markets by shifting to a more dovish stance on future rate hikes, citing subdued inflation and rising risks to global economic growth.

This week will also see speeches from a number of Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams and St. Louis Fed head James Bullard.

Market watchers will be looking ahead to Thursday’s durable goods report for an update on the health of the manufacturing sector, while a report on existing home sales the same day will give fresh insight into the housing sector, which lost momentum late last year amid higher interest rates and property prices.

Gold prices settled at the highest level in two weeks on Friday as indications of progress U.S.-China trade talks were seen as bullish for the yellow metal.

Gold futures ended up 0.83% at $1,324.75 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange late Friday, after rising as high as $1,325.80 earlier.

While gold posted a small weekly gain, it was rangebound for most of the week, with gains on Friday stemmed by a rebound in stocks.

"Gold (price action) is like watching oil evaporate. The market is continually bearish at lows and bullish at highs with actual breaks infrequent," said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.

"The end of the (Fed) tightening cycle now looms which improves the overall backdrop for gold significantly. With the Fed on hold, there is less pressure for the rest of the globe to keep pace."

The metal gained 0.5% in the previous session after weak U.S. retail sales data added to concerns over slowing growth, which could prompt the Fed to hold interest rates steady for a while. Gold is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

"The world economy is slowing very rapidly and therefore monetary policy everywhere will be eased, so the outlook is a lot more inflationary, helping gold," said Alasdair Macleod, head of research at GoldMoney.com.

Elsewhere in metals trading, silver was up 1.46% to $15.75 a troy ounce, paring the week’s losses to 0.42%, for a second straight weekly decline.

Copper ended at $2.816, up 1.51% for the day but ended the week lower, snapping five weeks of gains.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of significant events likely to affect the markets.

Monday, February 18

The U.K. is to publish industry data on house price inflation.

Financial markets in the U.S. will be closed for Washington’s Birthday, more widely known as President’s Day.

Tuesday, February 19

The Reserve Bank of Australia is to publish the minutes of its latest policy setting meeting.

The U.K. is to publish its monthly jobs report.

The ZEW Institute is to publish a report on German economic sentiment.

Wednesday, February 20

Australia is to publish data on the wage price index.

The Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its January rate setting meeting.

Thursday, February 21

Australia is to release its jobs report.

The euro zone is to release data on private sector business activity.

The European Central Bank is to publish its meeting minutes.

The U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, jobless claims, existing home sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.

Friday, February 22

The Ifo Institute is to publish a report on German business climate.

The euro zone is to release revised inflation data.

Canada is scheduled to produce data on retail sales.

ECB President Mario Draghi is to speak at an event in Bologna.

A number of Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams, St. Louis Fed head James Bullard and Fed Governors Randal Quarles and Richard Clarida are to speak at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, in New York.

-Reuters contributed to this report

Investing.com - Despite a holiday-shortened week in the U.S. the economic calendar for this week is busy, with U.S.-China trade talks continuing in Washington and Federal Reserve minutes and U.S. economic reports on tap.

Both the U.S. and China reported progress in trade negotiations last week, but President Donald Trump said Friday that the talks were “very complicated" and that he might extend the March 1 deadline and keep tariffs on Chinese goods from rising.

U.S. duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are set to rise from 10% to 25% if no deal is reached by the deadline.

The Fed on Wednesday is due to publish the minutes of its January meeting where its kept rates on hold and surprised markets by shifting to a more dovish stance on future rate hikes, citing subdued inflation and rising risks to global economic growth.

This week will also see speeches from a number of Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams and St. Louis Fed head James Bullard.

Market watchers will be looking ahead to Thursday’s durable goods report for an update on the health of the manufacturing sector, while a report on existing home sales the same day will give fresh insight into the housing sector, which lost momentum late last year amid higher interest rates and property prices.

The U.S. dollar slid lower on Friday after San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly suggested the central bank may hold off on raising interest rates in 2019.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of six rivals, was at 96.74 late Friday, after a week that included several weak data reports, including dismal U.S. retail sales.

The fall in the dollar saw the euro pull back from a three month low hit earlier in the day.

"All of this looks like a positive risk tone in markets on dovish Fed comments from Daly which go further than what other Fed speakers have said," said Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. "That I think is what has undermined the dollar and pulled the euro up."

Despite Friday’s recovery the single currency posted a second week of losses and is down 1.7% year to date on weaker-than-expected euro zone data.

The dollar was flat against the yen late Friday, with USD/JPY ending at 110.48.

Elsewhere, sterling ended little changed at 1.2894 after British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday suffered a largely symbolic defeat on her Brexit strategy.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of significant events likely to affect the markets.

Monday, February 18

The U.K. is to publish industry data on house price inflation.

Financial markets in the U.S. will be closed for Washington’s Birthday, more widely known as President’s Day.

Tuesday, February 19

The Reserve Bank of Australia is to publish the minutes of its latest policy setting meeting.

The U.K. is to publish its monthly jobs report.

The ZEW Institute is to publish a report on German economic sentiment.

Wednesday, February 20

Australia is to publish data on the wage price index.

The Fed is to publish the minutes of its January rate setting meeting.

Thursday, February 21

Australia is to release its jobs report.

The euro zone is to release data on private sector business activity.

The European Central Bank is to publish its meeting minutes.

The U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, jobless claims, existing home sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.

Friday, February 22

The Ifo Institute is to publish a report on German business climate.

The euro zone is to release revised inflation data.

Canada is scheduled to produce data on retail sales.

ECB President Mario Draghi is to speak at an event in Bologna.

A number of Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams, St. Louis Fed head James Bullard and Fed Governors Randal Quarles and Richard Clarida are to speak at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, in New York.

-- Reuters contributed to this report

Investing.com - Here’s a look at three things that were under the radar this past week.

1. Will Valentine’s Magic Continue for Oil?

Are oil bulls off to the races? Those long Brent or playing its spread versus U.S. WTI would have rubbed their hands with glee as the U.K. benchmark hit the key $65 per barrel level this week.

But if analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are right, that’s probably as much love as oil will get near term.

“We continue to see modest upside for Brent to $65/bbl in 2H,” the Wall Street bank said in an energy note this week, referring to second-half prospects.

Morgan Stanley agrees supply has tightened from relentless Saudi production cuts, reflected by the market’s recovery from Christmas Eve lows of around $50 for Brent and under $43 for WTI.

But it contends that a major imbalance has emerged and that’s the presence of too much light oil.

Together with modest gasoline demand, this is weighing on refinery margins and crude runs.

“Low refining margins and weaker economic data means oil prices can rally only so much,” it concludes.

The theory of an oil rally running on less-than-firm legs was reinforced by Thursday’s run-up, which came on the back of Saudi jawboning about upcoming production cuts and optimism over U.S.-China trade talks, despite mitigating weak U.S. crude supply-demand and economic data.

Scott Shelton, energy futures broker at ICAP (LON:NXGN) in Durham, N.C., notes that there was no real event driving the market the past few days but "prices are just strong."

The Energy Information Administration says a new swell of U.S. light oil is headed to the market, boosted by technology to unlock production from shale formations.

Those efforts could add 1.45 million barrels per day to U.S. production this year, bringing output to a record 12.41 million bpd. Next year’s output could go up by a further 790,000 bpd to a new all-time high of 13.2 million bpd.

2. Wage Hikes Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Small businesses have a knack of figuring out when the economic wind is about to change. And they signaled in a survey this week that trouble may be on the horizon.

In a day and age when companies are grappling with a shortage of skilled labor, a hefty wage package has proven effective bait to reel in top talent.

But small businesses indicated this week they don't plan on feeding the wage machine much longer as they expect the economy to falter, leading to cheaper labor.

With near-term wages growing faster than expected future wages, the compensation spread, which measures the difference between what small businesses will pay for labor now against what they are willing to pay in the future, is at the biggest margin in history, according to an NFIB survey.

The survey is sourced by economists for a read on domestic demand and to extrapolate hiring and wage trends in the broader economy. Wage growth is what keeps consumption ticking over and inflation on pace, staving off the risk of the economy flatlining, barring a Federal Reserve or government policy misstep.

Most importantly, the compensation curve has moved fairly in tandem with a Treasury yield curve.

Inverted yield curves have preceded every U.S. recession in recent history by anywhere from 15 months to around two years.

3. U.S. Government Debt Expectations Jump

The expectations for government debt rose sharply in January, according to a latest survey by the New York Federal Reserve published this week.

The median year-ahead expected growth in debt rose to 9.1% last month from 6.1% in December, the New York Fed said. That is the highest reading since September 2014, when it was 9.2%.

That could have market implications this year if the government pushes for policies like real negative interest rates to reduce the debt level. The 10-Year Treasury real interest rate, which is adjusted for inflation, is currently around 0.85%.

But so far the Trump administration has shown no interest in reducing the debt level.

When asked about whether President Donald Trump would mention the deficit or debt in the State of the Union, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney reportedly replied “Nobody cares.”

Investing.com - The Dow wrapped up the week in strong form Friday, notching an eighth-straight week of gains as optimism that the U.S. and China were closing in on a trade deal triggered a sea of green across Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.74%, the S&P 500 added 1.09%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.61%.

The Dow finished up 3.1% for the week, with the S&P 500 up 2.5% and the Nasdaq 2.4% higher. The Dow's close was its best since early November. The S&P and Nasdaq finished at their highest levels since Dec. 3.

With just weeks to go until the March 1 deadline, President Donald Trump offered an optimistic update on the second round of U.S.-China trade talks, prompting traders to turn bullish on stocks.

Trump said that trade talks "are going extremely well," stressing that the United States is closer than ever to "having a real trade deal" with China.

Without a trade deal secured by March 1, the U.S. could implement further tariffs on China. Trump said, however, that he would be "honored" to remove tariffs if an agreement can be reached.

The newfound optimism on trade pushed energy stocks sharply higher, as traders had long feared a prolonged trade war would hurt economic growth in China, the world's largest oil consumer, denting oil demand.

Trade has been not only weighed on market sentiment but also on corporate earnings.

Tractor supplier Deere (NYSE:DE) posted a rare earnings miss, blaming higher raw material costs and concerns over tariffs and trade policies. Its shares fell 2%.

Financials, mostly bank stocks, also led the market higher thanks to solid gains from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE:C).

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) plunged 18% after reporting fourth-quarter revenue that fell below estimates from Investing.com. The company also singled out trade tensions as factor that hurt results.

In tech, a surge in semis was led by Nvidia following the chipmakers' quarterly results and guidance from a day earlier.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) closed 2% higher at $157.34, but well below session highs of $163.87 as Wall Street doubted the company's guidance for a large jump in fourth-quarter revenue amid an uncertain backdrop for many of its businesses. It makes graphics chips that are often used in computers aimed at gamers.

Morgan Stanley said Nvidia is facing several challenges across different parts of the business at the same time, which "create quite a bit of idiosyncratic risk, and many variables that are 'unknowable'."

Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET), CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) and American International (NYSE:AIG) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) , Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.

Investing.com – Canada stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Energy, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite added 0.94% to hit a new 3-months high.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were Toromont Industries Ltd . (TO:TIH), which rose 10.04% or 5.98 points to trade at 65.53 at the close. Meanwhile, Sierra Wireless Inc . (TO:SW) added 9.69% or 1.46 points to end at 16.52 and Lundin Mining Corporation (TO:LUN) was up 7.00% or 0.425 points to 6.495 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were MTY Food Group Inc (TO:MTY), which fell 12.55% or 8.77 points to trade at 61.09 at the close. Cineplex Inc . (TO:CGX) declined 7.40% or 2.01 points to end at 25.14 and New Gold Inc (TO:NGD) was down 6.67% or 0.080 points to 1.120.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 645 to 412 and 140 ended unchanged.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was down 9.77% to 14.41 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.82% or 10.75 to $1324.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 2.43% or 1.32 to hit $55.73 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 2.66% or 1.72 to trade at $66.29 a barrel.

CAD/USD was up 0.34% to 0.7548, while CAD/EUR rose 0.43% to 0.6683.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.07% at 96.740.

Investing.com - DuPont (NYSE:DWDP) rose by 3.06% to trade at $54.27 by 15:58 (20:58 GMT) on Friday on the NYSE exchange.

The volume of DuPont shares traded since the start of the session was 10.74M. DuPont has traded in a range of $53.13 to $54.28 on the day.

The stock has traded at $54.2800 at its highest and $50.8300 at its lowest during the past seven days.

Investing.com - Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) rose by 3.11% to trade at $29.28 by 12:42 (17:42 GMT) on Friday on the NYSE exchange.

The volume of Bank of America shares traded since the start of the session was 32.26M. Bank of America has traded in a range of $28.67 to $29.28 on the day.

The stock has traded at $29.2800 at its highest and $27.8600 at its lowest during the past seven days.

Investing.com – France stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Industrials, Utilities and Technology sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Paris, the CAC 40 rose 1.79% to hit a new 3-months high, while the SBF 120 index added 1.64%.

The best performers of the session on the CAC 40 were Vivendi SA (PA:VIV), which rose 5.63% or 1.28 points to trade at 24.01 at the close. Meanwhile, Valeo SA (PA:VLOF) added 4.75% or 1.19 points to end at 26.26 and BNP Paribas SA (PA:BNPP) was up 4.19% or 1.70 points to 42.11 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Publicis Groupe SA (PA:PUBP), which fell 0.29% or 0.14 points to trade at 47.67 at the close. EssilorLuxottica SA (PA:ESLX) declined 0.28% or 0.30 points to end at 105.80 and Hermes International SCA (PA:HRMS) was down 0.11% or 0.60 points to 540.80.

The top performers on the SBF 120 were Bollore SA (PA:BOLL) which rose 6.68% to 3.704, Ipsen SA (PA:IPN) which was up 6.02% to settle at 125.10 and Plastic Omnium (PA:PLOF) which gained 5.73% to close at 24.56.

The worst performers were Eutelsat Communications SA (PA:ETL) which was down 5.96% to 17.68 in late trade, Electricite de France SA (PA:EDF) which lost 5.76% to settle at 13.99 and Groupe FNAC (PA:FNAC) which was down 4.57% to 64.700 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Paris Stock Exchange by 352 to 211 and 105 ended unchanged.

Shares in Vivendi SA (PA:VIV) rose to 52-week highs; up 5.63% or 1.28 to 24.01. Shares in EssilorLuxottica SA (PA:ESLX) fell to 52-week lows; down 0.28% or 0.30 to 105.80.

The CAC 40 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of CAC 40 options, was down 7.89% to 14.31.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.50% or 6.55 to $1320.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 2.11% or 1.15 to hit $55.56 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 2.31% or 1.49 to trade at $66.06 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.23% to 1.1274, while EUR/GBP fell 0.64% to 0.8758.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 96.882.

Investing.com – Denmark stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Industrials, Financials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Copenhagen, the OMX Copenhagen 20 gained 0.58% to hit a new 3-months high.

The best performers of the session on the OMX Copenhagen 20 were Ambu A/S (CO:AMBUb), which rose 2.55% or 4.0 points to trade at 160.7 at the close. Meanwhile, DSV (CO:DSV) added 2.29% or 12.0 points to end at 535.6 and ISS A/S (CO:ISS) was up 1.84% or 3.50 points to 193.60 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were GN Store Nord (CO:GN), which fell 0.99% or 3.0 points to trade at 299.0 at the close. Oersted A/S (CO:ORSTED) declined 0.88% or 4.20 points to end at 474.30 and William Demant Holding AS (CO:WDH) was down 0.81% or 1.8 points to 219.6.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange by 76 to 46 and 25 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for March delivery was up 2.17% or 1.18 to $55.59 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 2.34% or 1.51 to hit $66.08 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.49% or 6.45 to trade at $1320.35 a troy ounce.

USD/DKK was up 0.22% to 6.6182, while EUR/DKK rose 0.04% to 7.4620.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 96.882.

Investing.com – U.K. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Automobiles&Parts, Industrial Metals&Mining and Oil Equipment Services&Distribution sectors led shares higher.

At the close in London, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 added 0.56% to hit a new 3-months high.

The best performers of the session on the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 were Coca Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH), which rose 4.02% or 99.0 points to trade at 2562.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) added 2.89% or 6.30 points to end at 224.20 and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (LON:RBS) was up 2.44% or 5.90 points to 247.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON:SLA), which fell 5.96% or 14.80 points to trade at 233.75 at the close. Kingfisher PLC (LON:KGF) declined 3.05% or 7.10 points to end at 225.50 and Next PLC (LON:NXT) was down 2.11% or 102.00 points to 4724.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the London Stock Exchange by 1197 to 838 and 325 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.48% or 6.25 to $1320.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 2.21% or 1.20 to hit $55.61 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 2.25% or 1.45 to trade at $66.02 a barrel.

GBP/USD was up 0.42% to 1.2865, while EUR/GBP fell 0.59% to 0.8762.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 96.903.

Investing.com - PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) rose by 3.03% to trade at $124.27 by 12:07 (17:07 GMT) on Friday on the NYSE exchange.

The volume of PNC Financial shares traded since the start of the session was 973.97K. PNC Financial has traded in a range of $121.56 to $124.27 on the day.

The stock has traded at $125.2900 at its highest and $119.4000 at its lowest during the past seven days.

Investing.com – Sweden stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Industrials, Basic Materials and Financials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Stockholm, the OMX Stockholm 30 added 1.37% to hit a new 3-months high.

The best performers of the session on the OMX Stockholm 30 were Atlas Copco AB Class A (ST:ATCOa), which rose 3.05% or 7.5 points to trade at 251.6 at the close. Meanwhile, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB A (ST:SEBa) added 2.96% or 2.82 points to end at 98.16 and Sandvik AB (ST:SAND) was up 2.82% or 4.15 points to 151.15 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were H&M Hennes&Mauritz AB B (ST:HMb), which fell 1.47% or 2.0 points to trade at 136.4 at the close. Tele2 AB (ST:TEL2b) declined 1.33% or 1.60 points to end at 118.45 and Skanska AB ser. B (ST:SKAb) was down 0.18% or 0.30 points to 162.60.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Stockholm Stock Exchange by 410 to 232 and 51 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for March delivery was up 2.17% or 1.18 to $55.59 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 2.25% or 1.45 to hit $66.02 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.43% or 5.65 to trade at $1319.55 a troy ounce.

EUR/SEK was down 0.25% to 10.4656, while USD/SEK fell 0.04% to 9.2862.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.11% at 96.912.

Investing.com - PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) rose by 3.16% to trade at $116.13 by 11:28 (16:28 GMT) on Friday on the NASDAQ exchange.

The volume of PepsiCo shares traded since the start of the session was 3.90M. PepsiCo has traded in a range of $114.11 to $116.15 on the day.

The stock has traded at $116.1300 at its highest and $111.8600 at its lowest during the past seven days.

Investing.com – Turkey stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Information Technology, Wholesale&Retail Trade and Technology sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Istanbul, the BIST 100 gained 0.57%.

The best performers of the session on the BIST 100 were Turkiye Is Bankasi AS Class C (IS:ISCTR), which rose 3.76% or 0.210 points to trade at 5.790 at the close. Meanwhile, GSD Holding AS (IS:GSDHO) added 3.30% or 0.030 points to end at 0.940 and Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi AS (IS:OTKAR) was up 3.23% or 3.50 points to 112.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Tat Gida Sanayi AS (IS:TATGD), which fell 8.29% or 0.360 points to trade at 3.980 at the close. Aygaz AS (IS:AYGAZ) declined 3.44% or 0.39 points to end at 10.94 and Turk Hava Yollari AO (IS:THYAO) was down 3.32% or 0.470 points to 13.690.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Istanbul Stock Exchange by 209 to 135 and 62 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 0.29% or 3.75 to $1317.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 1.82% or 0.99 to hit $55.40 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 1.67% or 1.08 to trade at $65.65 a barrel.

USD/TRY was up 0.57% to 5.3003, while EUR/TRY rose 0.32% to 5.9715.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 96.953.

Investing.com - Gold prices moved higher on Friday as a string of weak economic data and subdued inflation supported the Federal Reserve’s current stance of being “patient” with future rate hikes, lowering the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

At 10:47 AM ET (15:47 GMT), gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $4.35, or 0.33%, to $1,318.25 a troy ounce. The intraday high of $1,322.95 was its best level since Feb. 4.

Coming on the back of the biggest decline in U.S. retail sales in the last nine years, a string of weak data out Friday reinforced the idea that the economy lacks the firepower necessary to force the Federal Reserve to boost interest rates.

Overnight, Chinese inflation data increased concern over deflationary pressures in the world’s second largest economy. China’s consumer price inflation unexpectedly slowed, while factory-gate inflation hit its weakest level since September 2016.

Stateside, U.S. import prices fell for a third-straight month in January, leading to the largest annual drop in nearly 2-1/2 years. That only added to earlier evidence this week that the consumer price index was holding steady, downplaying the need for tighter Fed policy so inflation doesn’t get out of hand.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary February readings of consumer sentiment released on Friday showed a larger-than-expected improvement following the reopening of the government after a shutdown that had dragged confidence to a two-year low.

As part of the data collected, the surveyor’s chief economist Richard Curtin noted that consumers’ long-term inflation expectations fell to the lowest level recorded in the past half century.

“The data suggest that the Fed will find it even harder to justify another rate hike given the record low inflation expectations,” Curtin added.

In other metals trading, silver futures rose 0.32% at $15.578 a troy ounce by 10:48 AM ET (15:48 GMT).

Palladium futures gained 1.56% to $1,407.50 an ounce, while sister metal platinum traded up 0.42% at $792.50.

In base metals, copper advanced 0.32% to $2.783 a pound.

Investing.com - XRP fell bellow the $0.29986 level on Friday. XRP was trading at 0.29986 by 10:03 (15:03 GMT) on the Investing.com Index, down 0.77% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since February 14.

The move downwards pushed XRP's market cap down to $12.42408B, or 10.31% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, XRP's market cap was $79.53400B.

XRP had traded in a range of $0.29986 to $0.30610 in the previous twenty-four hours.

Over the past seven days, XRP has seen a stagnation in value, as it only moved 0.78%. The volume of XRP traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $415.76552M or 2.12% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $0.2980 to $0.3163 in the past 7 days.

At its current price, XRP is still down 90.89% from its all-time high of $3.29 set on January 4, 2018.

Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading

Bitcoin was last at $3,588.6 on the Investing.com Index, down 0.08% on the day.

Ethereum was trading at $121.09 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 0.44%.

Bitcoin's market cap was last at $63.47904B or 52.68% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $12.82374B or 10.64% of the total cryptocurrency market value.

Investing.com - Wall Street was higher on Friday amid news that trade talks between the U.S. and China were going well and would be extended next week.

The S&P 500 rose 19 points, or 0.71%, as of 9:30 AM ET (14:30 GMT), while the Dow gained 125 points, or 0.49%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 41 points, or 0.56%.

President Xi Jinping met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and said after that talks are progressing, according to Chinese state media.

"Next week, both sides will meet again in Washington. I hope you will continue efforts to advance reaching a mutually beneficial, win-win agreement," Xi said.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was among the top gainers, rising 1%, while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) gained 0.8% and PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) jumped 2% as an increased dividend outweighed downside guidance for 2019.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose 2% after its earnings beat expectations, while Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was up 2.1%.

Elsewhere, semiconductor Micron (NASDAQ:MU) slumped 1.5% while Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) inched down 0.2% and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) slipped 0.6%. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) slumped 4% after its forecast for the second quarter were below expectations.

In commodities, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,320.05 a troy ounce, while crude oil jumped 1.7% to $55.34 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.1% to 96.93.

Investing.com - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose by 5.45% to trade at $162.95 by 09:30 (14:30 GMT) on Friday on the NASDAQ exchange.

The volume of NVIDIA shares traded since the start of the session was 921.56K. NVIDIA has traded in a range of $162.95 to $162.95 on the day.

The stock has traded at $162.9500 at its highest and $144.1300 at its lowest during the past seven days.

Investing.com - Stocks in focus in premarket trade Friday:

• NVIDIA stock (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumped 6.22% by 8:06 AM ET (13:06 GMT) after the company forecast better-than-expected sales for its current fiscal year.

• Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) stock lost 1.77% after the company forecast second-quarter profit and revenue below market expectations.

• PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) stock gained 2.36% as an increased dividend appeared to outweigh a forecast for a decline in profit this year.

• Deere (NYSE:DE) stock sank 4.25% after the company’s quarterly profit missed expectations as farmers put off purchases of machinery amid the ongoing uncertainty over trade with China.

• CBS (NYSE:CBS) stock declined 2.04% as quarterly results missed on the top and bottom lines.

• Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) stock soared 6.38% after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Carl Icahn plans to push the management of the company to seek a sale.

• Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) fell 1.07% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) informed the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission that it had sold its entire stake in the company. Buffett's company has also reduced its stake in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

• Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) stock tumbled 7.01% after the company’s outlook for earnings and sales missed forecasts.

• Truecar (NASDAQ:TRUE) stock dove 19.92% after the company reported worse-than-expected quarterly results and provided a weak outlook.

• Achaogen (NASDAQ:AKAO) stock crashed 37.11% after it proposed a secondary public offering of its common stock.

Investing.com – U.S. futures rose on Friday as Chinese President Xi Jinping said trade talks between the two biggest economies in the world would continue in Washington next week.

The extension was welcome news to investors, as it indicates officials are close to a deal before the March 1 deadline, when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase to 25% from 10%. U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that he could extend the deadline by 60-days, if the two sides continue to make progress.

Xi made his comments after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

The S&P 500 futures rose 3 points or 0.11% as of 6:45 AM ET (11:45 GMT) while Dow futures gained 27 points or 0.11% and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 7 points or 0.11%.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) was among the top gainers in premarket trading, jumping 5.8% after its earnings beat expectations, while semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) gained 1.5%, and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) rose 6.38% after news that activist investor Carl Icahn plans to push the management of the company to seek a sale.

Elsewhere, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) fell 1.3%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) slipped 0.4% and pharmaceutical company Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO) slumped 39% after it proposed a secondary public offering of its common stock.

In economic news, investors will be looking to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT), especially after Thursday’s disappointing retail sales numbers.

In commodities, gold futures recovered 0.6% to $1,322.15 a troy ounce, while crude oil rose 0.5% to $54.70 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.14% to 96.94 but was still off an overnight high.

Investing.com - PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) fell 0.5% in premarket trading on Friday, after saying its underlying profit this year would fall slightly this year, before rebounding in 2020.

The news is further proof of the headwinds facing the soda and snacks company as customers increasingly favor healthier products. It comes a day after arch-rival Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) reported surprisingly weak sales figures for the final quarter and also gave a lackluster outlook for the current year. That sent Coke's shares down over 8% to a four-month low.

"For 2019, we expect 4% organic revenue growth and approximately 1% decline in core constant currency earnings per share," Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a press release. "We expect to return to high-single-digit core constant currency EPS growth in 2020."

Pepsico (NASDAQ:PEP) reported earnings per share of $1.49 on revenue of $19.52 billion, in line with forecasts polled by Investing.com. The numbers compared to EPS of $1.31 on revenue of $19.53 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company had reported EPS of $1.59 on revenue of $16.49 billion in the previous quarter.

It also raised its annualized dividend to $3.82 from $3.71 per share, effective in June 2019.

"While adverse foreign exchange translation negatively impacted reported net revenue performance, our underlying organic revenue growth accelerated in the second half, and we ended the year with 4.6% organic revenue growth in the fourth quarter," Laguarta said.

The company's profit was increased by its Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods divisions, while its North America Beverages division profit declined 12% due to operating cost increases.

For the year, PepsiCo shares are up 1.91%, under-performing the S&P 500 which is up 10.85% year to date.

PepsiCo follows other major Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector earnings this month

On January 23, Procter&Gamble reported second quarter EPS of $1.25 on revenue of $17.44B, compared to forecasts of EPS of $1.21 on revenue of $17.16B.

Stay up-to-date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing.com's earnings calendar

Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, Feb. 15:

1. U.S.-China trade talks drag on

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that trade talks between Washington and Beijing had been “productive”, but provided no details apart from the description.

As high level talks wound up in Beijing, several media reports cited sources that said little progress had been made on major issues that could pave the way for a meeting between the two countries.

Having finished discussions with the Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, The New York Times reported that Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later on Friday.

Speculation pointed to the possibility that the three may discuss holding a summit between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump in the near future.

Separately, the South China Morning Post reported that high-level trade talks would continue in Washington next week.

2. Global stocks mixed as economic weakness weighs

Global stocks showed mixed signs on Friday as the reported lack of progress in U.S.-Sino trade talks weighed and weak Chinese data added to disappointing U.S. retail sales released a day earlier.

Asian stocks bore the brunt of the selloff as weak Chinese inflation data increased concern over deflationary pressures in the world’s second largest economy. China’s consumer price inflation unexpectedly slowed, while factory-gate inflation hit its weakest level since September 2016. China’s Shanghai Composite closed down 1.4% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 1.2% lower.

Elsewhere, European bourses struggled to remain afloat in morning trade, but gains in the region’s telecoms and industrials helped push indices higher by midday on the Old Continent. Germany’s DAX trailed its peers as the country’s Ifo Institute warned that proposed U.S. auto tariffs could cut German car exports in half.

U.S. futures pointed to a flat open as investors held out after the largest drop in retail sales in nine years. At 5:50 AM ET (10:50 GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures inched up 19 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 futures edged forward 2 points, or 0.09%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 4 points, or 0.05%.

Read more: What Happens When More QE Fails To Reverse The Recession? - Charles Hugh Smith

3. U.S. consumer confidence in focus after retail sales plunged

After Thursday’s surprise tumble in retail sales for December, the market will be anxious to receive the latest consumer confidence figures. The University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of its February consumer sentiment index at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT).

Consumer sentiment is expected to improve, recovering from the near-two-year low caused largely by the partial government shutdown.

The reading takes on particular significance after data showed Thursday that retail sales - equivalent to approximately 70% of the American economy - registered their largest decline in nine years.

Ahead of the confidence survey, the New York Fed will issue its measure of manufacturing in the New York region at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).

4. Pepsi and Deere step up on the earnings calendar

Earnings will remain in the spotlight in Friday’s trade as PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) and Deere (NYSE:DE) take the spotlight ahead of the open in the latest string of results for the fourth-quarter reporting period. Pepsi raised its dividend but forecast a 1% drop in underlying earnings this year before a rebound in 2020.

With 386 of the S&P 500 firms having already reported earnings, analysts at The Earning Scout warned that beat rates are below normal as growth has slowed and companies overall are lowering their guidance.

Chipmakers reporting after Thursday’s close gave mixed signals.

Shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) soared 5% in premarket trade Friday as investors celebrated a profit beat and its full-year sales outlook topped consensus. but Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had fallen around 1.5% in extended trading as its guidance for current quarter profit missed estimates.

5. Trump to declare national emergency

Trump is scheduled to speak at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT) Friday where White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed he would sign legislation to avoid a government shutdown and would also declare a national emergency in order to build a southern border wall with Mexico.

An emergency declaration would allow Trump to redirect the funds for the wall which were not included in the spending bill approved by Congress.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday that she was reviewing her options in the hopes of filing a legal challenge to Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.

“This is not an emergency, and the president's fearmongering doesn't make it one,” she explained in a joint statement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Investing.com - U.K. retail sales rose by 1% in January, as consumers shrugged off uncertainty over the country’s plan to leave the European Union at the end of March and took advantage of post-holiday sales.

Retail sales rose 1% in January and were up 4.2% from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. That was compared to a fall of 0.7% in the previous month, which was revised up from a negative 0.9%.

Economists polled by Investing.com had forecast a reading of 0.2% for the month and a rise of 3.4% year on year.

"The quantity bought in textile, clothing and footwear stores showed strong year-on-year growth at 5.5% as stores took advantage of the January sales, with a year-on-year price fall of 0.9%," the ONS said in a press release.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile and gasoline sales, rose 1.2% in January and 4.1% year-over-year.

Investing.com -- The dollar was edging higher against major European currencies early Friday in Europe after weak Chinese inflation data overnight reinforced concerns about global growth.

Fears about the growth outlook have revived this week in the wake of a shockingly sharp fall in U.S. retail sales in December, and there is still not enough evidence of progress in the trade talks between China and the U.S. to suggest that risk appetite will return quickly.

At 03:00 AM ET (8:00 GMT), the dollar index futures contract that tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies was at 96.953. That’s just off a new two-month high of 97.120 that it hit Thursday.

The market hasn’t reacted much to news that Trump is set to declare a national emergency over border security after signing the spending bill hammered out earlier this week in Congress. While the immediate threat of another shutdown has been lifted, the precedent threatens to undermine a long-standing principle of Congressional oversight of spending and introduce more longer-term instability into U.S. politics.

The euro was at $1.1278, down 0.2% and seemingly set to test a three-month low of $1.1218 later. The British pound was still struggling below $1.28 after another parliamentary defeat Thursday – albeit only a symbolic one, for Prime Minister Theresa May over her Brexit strategy.

The two currencies will be sensitive Friday to U.K. retail sales data for January which will either confirm or buck a trend of data showing the economy stalling as Brexit approaches. In addition, European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure is due to speak at 08:00 AM ET (13.00 GMT).

Elsewhere, the dollar was also higher against the growth-sensitive Aussie and Kiwi, and against higher-yielding currencies such as the Turkish lira and South African rand.

Investing.com - The yuan fell against the U.S. dollar on Friday in Asia after data showed China’s January Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index both missed expectations.

The country’s CPI rose 1.7% in January from a year earlier, slower than the 1.9% increase in December and below market expectations for a 1.9% rise.

Meanwhile, the PPI rose 0.1% year-on-year in January, the weakest pace since September 2016 and slowing from the previous month's 0.9% increase.

Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive for the yuan, while a low reading is seen as negative for the Chinese currency.

The USD/CNY pair last traded at 6.7753 at 12:23 AM ET (5:23 GMT), up 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was also up 0.1% at 96.893.

The rise in the dollar came even after the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. retail sales fell for the first time in ten months in December.

CIBC said one weak reading shouldn't prove worrisome as a strong labour market will lend support to consumer spending in the coming months.

"Still, today's data reinforces the Fed's cautious stance for the time being and will weigh on the USD and see yields fall," the bank added.

The market now awaits developments in trade talks between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump's upbeat assessment of the talks earlier in the week raised hopes that the two sides might still be able to reach a deal before the March 1 deadline, but headlines that came out today suggested an agreement might still be some way off.

Citing three unnamed U.S. and Chinese officials, Bloomberg reported that the two countries have made little progress so far during their discussions in Beijing this week. They have failed to narrow the gap on issues related to structural reforms to China’s economy, according to the report.

Elsewhere, the AUD/USD pair fell 0.2%. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Christopher Kent said in a speech in Melbourne Friday that he thinks recent weakness in the Aussie dollar might be helpful to the economy.

“While the exchange rate is still within the relatively narrow range of the past few years, the recent depreciation is helpful at the margin given that there remains spare capacity in the economy and inflation remains below target,” he said.