Stocks: U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, setting them up for their best weekly performance since October.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) rose 10.96 points, or 0.06 percent, to 17,743.71, the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 4.46 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,085.7 and the Nasdaq Composite index (IXIC) added 22.80 points, or 0.45 percent, to 5,096.44.
Forex: The dollar held gains against the other major currencies in quiet trade on Friday, as growing hopes for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve continued to lend support to the greenback.
USD/JPY was steady at 122.84, not very far from Wednesday's three-month high of 123.69.
The greenback remained supported after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's October meeting showed on Wednesday that a majority of board members are in favor of a December rate hike.
"While no decision had been made, it may well become appropriate to initiate the normalization process at the next meeting," the minutes said.
Forex: The U.S. dollar trimmed gains against its Canadian counterpart on Friday, after the release of mixed Canadian data, but remained supported near one-and-a-half month highs as investors continued to bet on a potential U.S. rate hike in December.
USD/CAD pulled away from 1.3334 the pair's highest since Wednesday, to hit 1.3294 during early U.S. trade, still up 0.08%.
Commodities: U.S. oil futures dropped on Friday, as expectations for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve continued to lend broad support to the greenback and as supply glut worries weighed.
U.S. crude futures for January delivery were last at $41.45 a barrel, down 0.66% for the day.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the January Brent contract were steady at $44.20 a barrel.
Commodities: Gold prices regained some ground in European morning hours on Friday, but remained within close distance of a five-and-a-half year low as expectations for a December rate hike in the U.S. continued to lend broad support to the greenback.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were up 0.23% at $1,080.40.
The December contract ended Thursday's session 0.86% higher at $1,077.90 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,065.10, the low from November 17 and a five-and-a-half year low and resistance at $1,092.40, the high from November 16.
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