There was finally some New Year cheer on Wall Street overnight, with US stocks rallying on the back of positive economic data.

The S&P500 logged its first winning session for the year after data showed the US trade deficit narrowed more than expected in November, and falling to its lowest level in four years.

The surprisingly positive trade data added to signs of strengthening overseas demand for US goods.

The benchmark index added 11 points (+0.6%) to 1838, whilst the Dow jumped 106 points (+0.6%) to 16531 and the Nasdaq put on 39 points (+1%) to 4153.

There were similar healthy gains in Europe, with the UK FTSE up 0.4% and the German DAX and French CAC each climbing 0.8%.

In commodity markets, oil rebounded from a five session slump ahead of tonight's US supply report, which is expected to reveal a drop in weekly stockpiles. Oil futures rose 0.5% to US$93.85 a barrel.

The US dollar rose against other currencies ahead of this week's release of the Fed minutes for December, which may shed light on just how much support for stimulus tapering there was among officials.

There is no major economic data due for release today.

Morning Market Update: Positive Start Ahead is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog