Wall Street at new two-year highs on strong economic data

In the US markets, stocks ended up nearly a percent or more as investors flocked to stocks, pushing the market to new two-year highs on the first trading day of the year. The S&P 500 closed at its highest levels since September.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.81% or 93.24 points at 11670.75. Nasdaq Composite rose 1.46% or 38.65 points at 2691.52. Standard & Poor's 500 added 1.13% or 14.25 points at 1271.89. In economic data, solid data seemed to uphold this session's buying effort. Construction spending for November has increased by 0.4%, which exceeded consensus call for a 0.2% increase. The ISM manufacturing index for December improved to 57.0 from 56.6, but the latest reading was still slightly below the 57.3 that had been expected. In the currency space- the dollar advanced against several key currencies and the dollar index climbed as much as 0.7% in early New York trade before it slipped 0.3% at close of trade. It is currently steady in Asia trade. In commodities - oil prices rose to a 27-month peak as upbeat European and US manufacturing data and forecasts for cold weather reinforced optimism about economic and energy demand growth.