Gold prices are rising significantly during today's trading

European Markets

European stocks witnessed significant gains today, Friday, benefiting from the improvement in investors' risk appetite. European stocks were not the only gainers today, as Asian stocks also witnessed notable gains as investors were optimistic about the growth of the world's second-largest economy.

IT comes at a time when the euro-zone economy suffered from disappointing data, as data released this morning showed a slowdown in growth in the services sector during February.

On the other hand, however, the services PMI in Britain rose slightly, which helped in the recovery of the pound against the US dollar.

Gold prices

Gold prices are rising significantly during today's trading. Gold managed to record weekly gains for the first time in four weeks.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Chairman Rafael Bostick said Thursday that the impact of higher US interest rates on the economy may only be beginning to become apparent. It made the markets prepare for the possibility that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged soon.

But Thursday's data showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell again last week, indicating continued labor market strength.

US dollar

The US dollar fell to its lowest level in a week and stable near to 105.00 level.

US service sector growth stabilized in February, with new orders and employment rising to more than one-year highs, indicating the economy continued to expand in the first quarter.

The reading of the ISM service sector is well above the 50.0 level, which the ISM says over time indicates growth in the overall economy.