Gold prices rebound as stocks slip

Gold prices rebounded in choppy trading Friday as equities stumbled in the wake of weaker-than-expected economic data, but the precious metal remained on track for a weekly loss.

Gold for February delivery GCG5, +0.48% rose $2.70, or 0.2%, to $1,186.80 an ounce, with volume thin at the end of the holiday season. Still, the bounce was impressive, coming off an earlier low of $1,167.30.

Oil rout continues in volatile start to 2015

 Oil futures ended the first trading day of 2015 on the same note they finished 2014, sliding to another round of lows on a surging U.S. dollar and a global glut of crude.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for delivery in February CLG5, -0.86%  fell 58 cents, or 1.1%, to close at $52.69 a barrel, the lowest finish since April 2009. February Brent crude LCOG5, -1.43%  on London’s ICE Futures exchange remained 13 cents lower at $56.29 a barrel, a loss of 0.2%.

Nymex WTI crude lost 45.87% through 2014, and Brent crude lost 48.26%, the largest one-year net and percentage decline since 2008 for both benchmarks.

Market Closing Update

MALAYSIAN shares ended lower on Friday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipping 8.48 points to close at 1,752.77.

Some 1.08 billion lots, valued at RM921.65 million were traded. Gainers numbered 394 while losers numbered 312.

U.S. stock-index futures tip strong open for Wall Street

U.S. stock-index futures sat solidly higher late Thursday, suggesting a strong open for Wall Street after a pullback in the previous session. 

About 11 hours ahead of the start of Friday trade, futures for the S&P 500 SPX, -1.03% Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.89% and Nasdaq 100 all traded at levels implying 0.5% opening gains for each. In previous trading Wednesday, ahead of the New Year's Day break, the S&P 500 fell 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.87% and Dow industrials each closed with a 0.9% loss. 

Oil moves higher to trim year-end losses

New York-traded crude-oil futures managed to recoup some losses in electronic trade early Friday, though rival Brent North Sea crude saw only a modest gain.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures for February CLG5, +1.11%   improved by 58 cents, or 1.1%, to $53.85 a barrel on Globex, trimming its 1.6% drop in the previous New York Mercantile Exchange session Wednesday.

But London-traded February Brent crude LCOG5, +0.42%   rose a slimmer 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $57.46 a barrel, after having lost 1.8% on Wednesday.