Another Friday packed with data could cause some volatility for markets as we head into the weekend.

The USD weakened overnight, allowing paired currencies to rally. The EUR/USD opened the day at $1.16703 and dipped to a low of $1.16675 shortly after the open. It was mainly up from there as the pair rallied to a high of $1.17835 late in the session. It is not far off those highs, currently trading at $1.17772. The GBP/USD opened at $1.31420 and dipped to lows of $1.31330 during the opening hour of trade. Like the euro, the pound turned it on after a few hours of flat trading. The pair surged to a high of $1.32975 later in the session. The pound fell back to $1.32250 before climbing again to its current level of $1.32714.

Indices performed strongly, with the Dow reaching record highs. The index opened at 26,441.07 and remained flat in early trading, sliding to a low of 26,424.27 mid-session. The Dow broke out of that malaise, rallying for the rest of the session, peaking at 26,705.93 very late in the day. It is not far off that high, currently trading at 26,697.40. The Dax, buoyed by the rallying Dow, also performed strongly after opening at 12,208.21. The German index dropped to lows of 12,201.10 in the opening hour before starting its climb up. The Dax surged to a high of 12,366.70 during the final hour of the session, closing at 12,354.20.

The day ahead sees the publication of a host of data from around the world, with the most significant being the PMI data emanating from Europe. This PMI data gives markets an indication of the strength of the relative sectors in their respective countries. The PMI data and other data set for release includes:

NZ – Credit Card Spending

UK – BoE Quarterly Bulletin, Public Sector Net Borrowing

US – Flash Manufacturing & Services PMIs

Japan – Flash Manufacturing PMI, All Industries Activity

Canada – Retail & Core Retail Sales, CPI, Core, Common, Median and Trimmed CPIs

Europe – European, German and French Flash Manufacturing PMIs, European, German and French Flash Services PMIs

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