U.S. equity markets surged to the upside, taking back most of Wednesday’s loss as signs of a global economic recovery helped drive up demand for higher risk assets.

Better than expected housing data and earnings reports also contributed to today’s rally, but the majority of the buying was done overnight by aggressive Asian and European buyers.

September Treasury Bonds surged to the upside once again as traders flocked to the safety of the lower yielding Treasury market. In addition, the weak U.S. economic data means the Fed is likely to keep interest rates down for a prolonged period of time.

News that Intel posted its best quarter ever is helping to drive U.S. stock markets higher in after-market trading. Fundamental and technical factors drove U.S. stock index futures higher throughout the day. Expectations are for Asian and European traders to act on the Intel news, leading to the strong possibility of a higher opening tomorrow morning.

U.S. equity markets see-sawed most of the trading session before settling higher. After the markets closed, Alcoa reported a quarterly profit in line with pre-report expectations.