Markets had a positive session on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.8 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7 percent to its highest level since 2007.
It was not just US markets that rose. The STOXX Europe 600 Index also rose 1.8 percent while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent.
The news for the day had been mostly positive, even though monetary policies in Japan and the US were left unchanged after central bank meetings on Tuesday.
The Bank of Japan kept its interest rate unchanged at a range of zero to 0.1 percent and refrained from increasing its asset purchasing scheme. However, it did expand a special loan scheme by 2 trillion yen to 5.5 trillion yen.
The Federal Reserve also left monetary policy unchanged as it expects moderate economic growth and a gradual decline in the unemployment rate.
The Federal Reserve did say on Tuesday that 15 of the 19 largest US banks passed its latest stress test.
Investor sentiment in the US was also boosted by a report showing that retail sales rose 1.1 percent in February.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment in Germany has also improved. The ZEW index of investor and analyst expectations jumped to 22.3 in March, its highest reading since June 2010, from 5.4 in February.
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