In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei share average edged lower on Friday as weakness in exporters weighed on the index, but strong gains in index-heavy Fast Retailing on record quarterly profit limited the losses. The Nikkei ended 0.2 percent lower at 23,653.82. For the week, it fell 0.3 percent. Fast Retailing Co jumped 6 percent after it posted a 28.6 percent increase in its operating profit to 113.9 billion yen ($1 billion) for the first quarter. Exporters took a hit as the yen stayed on the stronger side. Olympus fell 3.8 percent, Kyocera was down 1.7 percent and Nissan Motor declined 0.8 percent. South Korea’s Kospi edged up by 0.2 percent. Still, heavyweight technology names were mostly lower with Samsung Electronics declining 2.2 percent and LG Electronics trading down 2.26 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar fell against rivals on Friday on the back of weak factory inflation data, while the euro enjoyed solid support after the European Central Bank hinted that it could be gearing up to trim its massive monetary stimulus. Against the yen, the dollar was almost flat on the day at 111.27, after falling to a six-week low of 111.05 yen on Thursday. It was still down a steep 1.6 percent for the week in which the Japanese currency gained as a routine operational reduction in bond purchases by the Bank of Japan triggered speculation that the central bank would unwind its massive stimulus. The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.2050, approaching its nearly four-month high of $1.2089 set last week. It was up 0.2 percent for the week.

In Commodities Markets oil prices on Friday slipped away from December-2014 highs reached the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.41, or 0.6 percent, below their last settlement. WTI the day before hit its strongest since late 2014 at $64.77 a barrel. Brent crude futures were at $69.11 a barrel, down 0.2 percent, from their last close. Brent also marked a December-2014 high the previous day, at $70.05 a barrel. Although analysts and traders have been warning of the risks of a downward price correction since the start of the year, they point out that overall market conditions remain strong, largely due to ongoing production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.

In US Equity Markets indexes closed at record highs on Thursday as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks and investors bet on a strong U.S. corporate earnings season. The S&P energy sector closed up 2 percent. The consumer discretionary sector saw strong gains in media and retail stocks, while the industrials index was helped by airlines after news from No. 2 U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines. The S&P 500 gained 0.70 percent, to 2,767.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.81 percent, to 7,211.78. Delta Air Lines shares closed up 4.8 percent at $58.52 after it predicted a double benefit from the U.S. corporate tax cut – savings on its own bill and an uptick in business travel as companies to spend tax savings. It also reported an upbeat quarterly profit. The Dow Jones Transport index rose 2.3 percent, its biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 29.

In Bond Markets Treasury yields fell on Thursday after China disputed a report that its government officials had recommended the country slow or halt its purchases of U.S. bonds. Benchmark 10-year notes gained 6/32 in price to yield 2.53 percent, after rising as high as 2.60 on Wednesday, the highest since March 15. The back up in yields nonetheless helped draw buyers to the Treasury Department’s $12 billion auction of 30-year bonds, the final sale of $56 billion in coupon-bearing supply this week. The bonds sold at yields that were more than 2 basis points lower than where they had traded before the sale. Investors are next focused on Friday’s consumer price data for December. November’s core inflation report disappointed investors by unexpectedly slowing.

Today’s inflection points

• 14:30 GMT+1 USD  CPI headline
• 14:30 GMT+1 USD CPI core
• 14:30 GMT+1 USD Retail sales
• 17:30 GMT+1 EUR ECB’s Weidmann speaks in Germany
• 22:15 GMT+1 USD Fed’s Rosengren (non-voter, hawk) speaks