(MENAFN- AFP) US and European stocks rebounded strongly Thursday, shrugging off a plunge in Chinese markets as investors awaited a key meeting of finance ministers to discuss strains in the global economy.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index led the way, rising 2.5 percent to close at 6,012.81 points while in the eurozone Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 1.7 percent and the Paris CAC 40 advanced 2.2 percent.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 advanced 1.1 percent and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3 percent.
"I think we're going through a counter-trend rally right now, that the market got oversold recently," said Sam Stovall of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"Investors believe we're possibly in a bear-market rally before we go down and retest low levels again."
The gains came as finance chiefs of the G20 major economies prepared to meet in Shanghai on sluggish global growth on Friday and Saturday.
They gather amid warnings of the need for concerted action to boost demand and avoid a world recession.
Officials of the top economies reject that dire forecast, but have agreed that fiscal measures to stimulate activity is needed.
The International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday that the world economy is "highly vulnerable" and called for new mechanisms to protect the most vulnerable countries.
Worries surfaced earlier Thursday over China's lack of clarity about its response to slumping growth. Shanghai shares sank 6.4 percent and in Shenzhen the losses were 7.3 percent.
"The economy hasn't shown signs of stabilization and policies are still coming out one after another," Central China Securities analyst Zhang Gang told AFP.
Meanwhile oil prices, a major driver of recent market volatility, surged in late trade Thursday on comments from Venezuela that major producers would meet in March to discuss production limits.
In New York the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in April rose 92 cents to $33.07 a barrel, while in London, Brent North Sea crude for April closed at $35.29 a barrel, up 88 cents.
- G20 awaits -
The sharp decline came ahead of a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 group of leading industrialized nations in Shanghai, with China's slowing growth expected to loom over the discussions.
US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has said G20 finance ministers will not deliver an "emergency response" to the market turmoil this week, as the world was not in crisis mode just yet.
But the gloomy outlook for the global economy has added to pressure on both governments and central bankers to unleash fresh monetary firepower to help stimulate growth and reassure investors.
Cooling growth in China, a key importer of raw materials, has sent commodity and energy prices spinning and saw global stocks notch one of their worst starts to a year in living memory.
Falling commodity prices have hurt exporters like Australia, whose currency slumped Thursday on news that companies are planning to invest their least in nine years.
- Key figures at 2200 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 1.3 percent at 16,697.29 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 1,951.70 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 4,582.21 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 2.5 percent at 6,012.81 points (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.7 percent at 9,331.48 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.2 percent at 4,248.45 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 2.0 percent at 2,887.43 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 16,140.3 points (close)
Shanghai - composite: DOWN 6.4 percent at 2,741.3 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.6 percent at 18,888.8 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1023 from $1.1008 on Wednesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 112.95 yen from 112.15 yen on Wednesday
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