The three main US indexes all gained between 1.4% and 2%, lifted in part by a 2% rise in the US oil price.
Earlier in London, the FTSE 100 closed 0.7% down, while the main Frankfurt and Paris indexes fell 1.7% and 1.8% respectively.
Those falls followed a heavy sell-off in some Asian markets.
The pound hovered close to five-and-half-year lows against the dollar.
