International equity markets rallied on Friday night after it was reported that Germany's investor confidence climbed to a 10-month high of 48.2 in February from 31.5 in the previous month-beating median estimates.

In Europe, the UK's FTSE added 44 points (+0.7%) to settle at 6336 whilst Germany's DAX climbed 78 points (+1%) to settle at 7662. France's CAC climbed 81 points (+2.2%) to settle at 3706.

In the US, the Dow Jones climbed 120 points (+0.9%) to settle at 14001 whilst the S&P increased 13 points (+0.9%) to settle at 1516. The Nasdaq added 30 points (+1%) to settle at 3162.

In the commodity space, crude oil for April delivery climbed $0.29 to settle at $93.13 per barrel for the same reasons equity markets advanced. Gold futures for April delivery declined 0.4% to settle at $1,572.80 per ounce on the back of market optimism.

In the currency space, the Japanese yen declined against most of its peers on the back of concerns that the Prime Minister's frontrunner as the next BoJ governor is ADB President, Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda.

The euro fell against the US dollar after the ECB mentioned that it will collect lower-than-expected early repayments from European banks. The US dollar finished higher against the yen amid speculation that Japan will implement further monetary policies.

There is major local economic data slated for release today.

Morning Market Update: Where To Next is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog