US consumer confidence falls in January
The Michigan University survey showed that the US consumer confidence index fell during this month.
The preliminary reading showed that consumer confidence fell to 99.1 points in January vs. 99.3 in December, lower than forecasts of 99.6.
Palladium soars to records, but will the bubble burst?
Palladium prices surged on Friday. The industrial metal (which is now considered precious) continued its record run above the $2,000 barrier, beating even gold.
Palladium is drawing strong support from increased demand by automakers, as it is used in the manufacturing of care parts that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Many companies are stockpiling palladium, sheltering from any potential supply shortages in the global market, due to the nature of mining operations of the metal as it's extracted as a secondary product from operations focused on platinum.
Palladium saw large gains since the beginning of this year, following the past year's gains massive, but analysts fear it might be just a bubble that will burst soon after the current record jumps.
Palladium March futures surged 4.5% to $2274.9 an ounce as of 14:26 GMT, after hitting a session-high of $2280 and a low of $2201.
US stocks open at fresh all-time highs
The main US stock indices rose on Friday, to reach new record highs, to continue the record-breaking rally amid lingering optimism about the Sino-US trade trade relations.
President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed the phase-one of the trade deal on Wednesday.
Trump said that the partial trade pact will return $250 billion to the US through Chinese purchases of its goods and services.
Data showed today that housing starts and building permits in the US housing market rose in December.
Dow Jones rose by 0.2% or 55 points to 29,352 as of 15:10 GMT, Nasdaq added 0.2% or 21 points to 9,378, and S&P 500 rose by 0.2% or 8 points to 3,325.
Dollar continues 2-day rally amid improved sentiment
The US dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Friday, charging for the second daily gain in a row, and targeting its second straight weekly gain on robust US economic data and strong market sentiment, after the signing of the US-China initial trade pact.
The dollar index rose by 0.2% to 97.50 points, after it opened at 97.31, and hit an intraday low of 97.27.
The greenback gained more than 0.1%, and posted its third daily gain in 4 days, buoyed by upbeat US economic data.
The US revealed yesterday that retail sales rose in December, and the Philadelphia industrial sector index grew in January, which spurred confidence in the US economic growth path.
During this week, the dollar index gained 0.2% so far, on the cusp of its second straight weekly gain on strong market sentiment following the signing of the US-China initial trade pact.
President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed the phase-one of the trade deal yesterday, marking the end of the 18-month old trade war between the world's two largest economies.
Officials from both sides described the agreement as a strong step toward resolving the trade war.
US Vice President Mike Pence stated that talks for the phase-two of the deal have started with the Chinese side.
Investors are also anticipating the release of important US data today, on the on the housing sector, consumer sentiment and industrial production for December.
The US building permits reading for December will be released at 13:30 GMT, with forecasts to rise to 1.47 million vs. 1.48 million in November, and the housing starts reading to rise 1.38 million vs. 1.37 million.