U.K. Nationwide HPI falls unexpectedly ..

The U.K.’s Nationwide house price index fell unexpectedly last month, data showed on Friday.

In a report, , Nationwide Building Society said that said its index of U.K. house prices fell to -0.2%, from 0.4% in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected the Nationwide HPI to rise 0.3% last month

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Gold futures shoot up amid bargain buying ..

Gold shot upwards Friday in a rally fueled by demand from bottom-fishing investors who viewed the precious metal as somewhat oversold.

A weaker dollar helped also, as the two assets often trade inversely from one another.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1568.75 a troy ounce, up 1.81%

The yellow metal earlier hit a high of USD1582.65 and a low of 1546.25.

Gold futures were likely test support at USD1523.95, Thursday’s low, and resistance at USD1594.25, Wednesday’s high.

The dollar has resumed its traditional role as a safe haven from market volatility during the latter half of 2011.

Loose monetary policies and economic uncertainty weakened the greenback before, which made gold a safe haven during the past year, especially amid concerns that inflationary pressures could rise.

Lately, however, investors have run back to the dollar on fears that the European crisis may be getting worse.

"We need to see the hot money from speculators, we need to see real money from the money managers coming back to this market, they have been absent throughout December," said Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen, according to Reuters.

The weaker dollar was the main reason for gold’s gains on Friday.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slipped 0.34% to hit 80.53.

“That is really where it's coming from," Hansen said.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery rebounded 2.26% to trade at USD27.932 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery rose 1.80% to trade at USD3.431 a pound.

U.S. stocks fall in light holiday trading; Dow down 0.59% ..

U.S. stocks finished lower Friday and pretty much where they started 2011, as investors blew off the year and stayed largely on the sidelines, making plans for 2012.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.59%, while the S&P 500 index was off 0.43% and the Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.32% on Friday.

In Europe, yields on Italian debt continue sky high at over 7%, fueling fears the European debt crisis is far from over.

In 2012, Italy will go to the bond market to raise EUR450 billion, according to Reuters, which investors view as quite a large sum for a country already battling debt burdens.

Also out of Europe, Spain reported that its deficit will hit 8% of total economic output, up from analyst forecasts for 6%.

Furthermore, fears that China might not avoid a hard landing as its economy eases up from a once red-hot pace have investors bracing for more uncertainty and volatility in 2012.

Leading U.S. losers included IBM, which was down 1.24%, Intel, down 1.22% and Boeing, down 1.03%

Leading gainers included Bank of America, up 1.83%, Hewlett-Packard, up 0.55%, and AT&T, up 0.23%.

European shares rose as well.

France's CAC 40 rose 1.03%, Germany's DAX rose 0.85%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.10%.

Trading was relatively quiet ahead of the New Year's Day holidays.

On Monday, markets will be closed as no market-moving data will hit the wire until Wednesday, when France releases consumer spending figures.