US stocks rose in early trading, helped by stronger-than-expected durable goods data, raising hopes that Wall Street will snap its six-day losing streak.
Although stocks were off their highs by late morning, all 10 major S&P 500 sectors were up, led by the technology index.
Durable goods orders rose 2% in July, compared with analysts' average forecast of a 4% fall.
Orders for core capital goods, a proxy for business investment, rose 2.2% - their biggest gain in 13 months.
The data suggested US economy was in good shape, giving rise to expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in the coming months.
Wednesday's gains followed a dramatic day of trading on Tuesday, when the three main indexes reversed course suddenly to close sharply lower amid lingering worries about slowing growth in China.
European shares ended nearly 2% lower after a volatile session, hit by a late drop in Syngenta after Monsanto dropped its offer for the company.
Stocks remain highly sensitive to fears over Chinese growth which have wreaked havoc in markets for days, but benchmark indexes closed above session lows on an early Wall Street rally and hopes of monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank.
China's key share indexes had attempted to move higher several times during Asian trading only to be slapped back by waves of selling, reflecting investors' views that much more support was needed from the government and the central bank.
There was more choppiness in currencies, with the dollar beginning to lose steam again in Europe having been on front foot for most of the Asian session.
The euro, which has taken on somewhat of a safe-haven status during the recent volatility, briefly turned higher on the day, rising to $1.1515. The dollar also dipped back to 119.35 yen, having been at 119.83 yen in early deals.
Fixed income markets were active with investors back in the mood for safety in government debt and cash.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year Treasuries eased to 2.0854% from 2.091% in late US trade. It was close to 2.5% barely a month ago.
China's downturn and global market turmoil have also created fresh uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates this year.
German 10-year bond yields - the euro zone benchmark - also dropped 5 basis to back below 0.7%, though that was still a way away from Monday's 0.51% lows when the China fears had coursed through markets.
"Some parts of the Asian bond markets have become quite illiquid and investors are only buying high-quality paper amid this selloff," said Hayden Briscoe, fixed-income director at AllianceBernstein in Hong Kong.
Despite China's struggles, Asia had shown some signs of stabilization after its recent lurches.
Japan's Nikkei and Korea's KOPSI were among the bright spots, with the former rising 3.2% as the dollar pushed down the yen. The latter jumped 2.6% in its biggest jump in two years.
Commodity prices which have been firmly in the China firing line, hovered just above multi-year lows hit earlier in the week.
The price of copper, often considered a proxy for global economic activity because of the metal's extensive use, dropped back 1.8% to $5,065 per tonne after a bounce yesterday.
A fall in a host of other industrial metals also kept the 19-commodity Thomson Reuters/Core Commodity CRB Index close to lows not seen since 2003.
Oil was bucking the trend. Brent crude futures last traded at $43.50 per barrel, more than a dollar above 6 1/2-year low of $42.23 on Monday. US crude also ticked up to 39.55.
Gold, meanwhile, was one of the few traditional safe-haven assets to lose ground, as it dipped 0.3% at $1,136 an ounce.
