Wednesday's session was marked by Retail Sales data. Retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $442.9 billion, a decrease of 0.9% from the previous month, but up 3.2% above December 2013. It was also below expected increase of 0.2%. Total sales for the 12 months of 2014 were up 4.0% from 2013. Total sales for the October through December 2014 period were up 4.1% from the same period a year ago. Core Retail Sales also missed expectations on 0.1%, and decreased by 1.0%.

On Thursday PPI, Unemployment Claims, Empire State Manufacturing Production and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index data was released. The Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.3% in December, seasonally adjusted, in line with market forecasts. Final demand prices decreased 0.2% in November and advanced 0.2% in October. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand increased 1.1% in 2014 after rising 1.2% in 2013.

Separate report on Unemployment Claims missed market expectations on an increase to 299,00 and showed that in the week ending January 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 316,000, an increase of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level. The 4-week moving average was 298,000, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average.

Empire State Manufacturing Index index climbed eleven points to 10.0. Analysts were forecasting smaller increase to 5.3.This month’s survey also showed modest growth in new orders and shipments. Labor market conditions were mixed, with the index for number of employees rising several points to 13.7, while the average workweek index remained negative at -8.4.

Philly Fed Manufacturing Index decreased 18 points, from a revised reading of 24.3 in December to 6.3 this month, missing expectations on smaller decline to 20.3. Demand for manufactured goods, as measured by the current new orders index, decreased 5 points, from a revised reading of 13.6 last month to 8.5 this month. Shipments also fell, with its index falling 22 points to -6.9, its first negative reading since February 2014. Firms reported shorter delivery times and a decrease in unfilled orders this month, on balance.

Friday's session was marked by CPI, Industrial Production and Consumer Confidence figures. US CPI decreased 0.4% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis. Analysts were forecasting 0.3% decline. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 0.8% before seasonal adjustment. Core CPI was unchanged in December, following a 0.2% increase in October and a 0.1% rise in November. Analysts were predicting 0.1% rise.

Industrial production decreased 0.1% in December after rising 1.3% in November. Analysts were anticipating 0.1% growth. The decrease in December reflected a sharp drop in the output of utilities, as warmer-than-usual temperatures reduced demand for heating; excluding utilities, industrial production rose 0.7%. Manufacturing posted a gain of 0.3% for its fourth consecutive monthly increase. The index for mining increased 2.2 percent after falling in the previous two months.

While analysts were anticipating incline to 94.2 points, Prelim UoM reading on Consumer Sentiment showed incline to 98.2 points. This is the highest level in 11 years as steady job gains and plunging gas prices brightened the outlook for U.S. households.

This week markets will be looking at:

Building Permits/Housing Starts (Wednesday 14:30)

Unemployment Claims (Thursday 14:30)

Existing Home Sales (Friday 16:00)