New year rally rumbles on as China surges Monday 08:40 GMT. Global stocks are starting the week at a fresh 19-month high as the new year rally trundles on, with some national benchmarks sporting multiyear peaks. Improving demand for growth-sensitive assets sees the FTSE All-World advance 0.1 per cent to 230.9, its best level since May 2011, while industrial commodities are firmer and perceived havens such as the US dollar are under pressure. The Chinese stock market, a laggard for much of 2012, was particularly exuberant - the Shanghai Composite index surging 3.1 per cent. Analysts had difficulty pinpointing the cause of the SCi's sharp move, though Bloomberg reported traders were excited by comments from Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, who said the country could increase tenfold the size of two programmes that allow investors to buy securities on domestic markets. The recently buoyant Tokyo market was closed for a national holiday, but the advance in China helped further bolster the region's sentiment, helping the FTSE Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan) gain 0.5 per cent, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.6 per cent and South Korea's Kospi added 0.5 per cent. In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 is up fractionally, as London's FTSE 100 trades at levels not seen since June 2008. US futures suggest Wall Street's S&P 500 will begin its session up 2 points to 1,474, flirting with five-year highs. The US budget deal, declining eurozone debt tensions and some better economic data of late from China and the US have combined to deliver a surge in "risk" appetite, forcing stocks higher and "safe" assets, such as Treasuries, lower. One of the big themes in the market is the concept of "rotation" as investors fall out of love with the long-term fixed income bull market and shift funds into racier bets. Support for this view came at the end of last week after it was revealed that investors had poured the most money into equity funds in more than five years. Another factor aiding stocks and commodities is the continuing ultra-accommodative policies of many of the world's major central banks. In the spotlight at the moment is the Bank of Japan, which is coming under pressure by the newly-elected prime minister Shinzo Abe to do even more to pull the country out of its deflationary malaise. The prospect of the BoJ delivering more liquidity is again hurting the yen, forcing the Japanese unit to its weakest versus the dollar in 2½ years, currently Y89.35. Elsewhere in currencies, the trend is adhering to type at a time of broader market optimism. The euro is up 0.1 per cent to $1.3355 and other units that show a correlation to economic growth hopes are firmer. The Australian dollar, for example, is adding 0.2 per cent to $1.0558. The dollar index is thus struggling, down 0.1 per cent, and helping to support buck-denominated resources. Copper is gaining 0.7 per cent to $3.67 a pound and Brent crude is up 17 cents to $110.81 a barrel. Gold is advancing $6 to $1,668 an ounce. Bulls will be hoping that the stock market rally can receive additional impetus by a well-received US fourth-quarter earnings season. This week will see a flurry of big name results, with much emphasis placed on the performance of the banking sector as the likes of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs step forward before the opening bell on Wednesday.