Gold struggles to move into positive territory, trades around $1,575

• 10-year US Treasury bond yield erases nearly 2%.
• S&P and Nasdaq futures climb to record highs on Friday.
• US Dollar Index fluctuates above 99 ahead of US data.

The troy ounce of the precious metal rose $8 on Thursday but seems to be having a tough time stretching higher on Friday. As of writing, the XAU/USD pair was virtually unchanged on a daily basis at $1,576. Despite the uninspiring daily performance, the pair remains on track to finish the week with modest gains.

The mixed market sentiment doesn't allow gold to capitalize on risk-off flows on Friday. Although the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is erasing nearly 2% on a daily basis, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures trade at fresh record highs, suggesting that Wall Street's main indexes are likely to start the day in the positive territory.

Focus shifts to US data dump

On the other hand, the greenback is staying relatively strong against its major rivals to put additional weight on the pair's shoulders. The US Dollar Index, which rose to a fresh multi-month high of 99.16 earlier in the day, was last seen posting small daily gains at 99.12.

In the second half of the day, Retail Sales, Industrial Production, Business Inventories and the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Survey will be looked upon for fresh impetus. More importantly, investors will be keeping a close eye on Wall Street's performance.

Technical levels to watch for

XAU/USD