US markets soared higher overnight, buoyed by comments from Janet Yellen, which indicated support for continued monetary stimulus.

In a speech, Yellen said that the US recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, which is why she will keep the Fed's "extraordinary" support for the economy for "some time to come."

Her comments were seen as surprisingly dovish, particularly after she signalled only recently that the first US rate hike may occur in mid-2015.

The strong night on Wall Street ended a mixed start to the year for the major US indices. During the first quarter of 2014, the S&P500 managed a gain of 1.3%, whilst the Dow shed 0.7%.

In commodity markets, gold slipped further, ending a horrible month for the precious metal, which tumbled 3% in March.

Oil was also weaker, after data revealed a sharper-than-expected drop in Chicago-area manufacturing growth last month, which reduced prospects for a rise in US energy demand.

The Aussie dollar continued to trace new highs against the greenback, rising towards 93 US cents ahead of today's RBA meeting, which is expected to conclude with no change to the official cash rate.

Elsewhere, the euro firmed against the yen and US dollar after a measure of eurozone inflation fell less-than-expected, diminishing hopes of further ECB monetary easing.

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