FTSE Rallies After See-Saw On Global Markets

The FTSE has rallied and closed up 3.6% after a rollercoaster few days for the global markets sparked by jitters over China.

It means the index has now recovered all the losses sustained on Monday when it plummeted by 4.7%.

The rebound is the biggest percentage increase in almost four years.

The Footsie rose more than 200 points, the equivalent of £54bn added to the value of the companies that make up the top-flight index.

There was similar recovery in Europe - about 3% across the board.

Earlier, mainland China's main stock market, The Shanghai Composite, closed more than 5% higher, above the critical 3,000 level, and its highest jump in eight weeks.

The blue-chip CSI300 index, which focuses on 300 of the largest companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, closed nearly 6% higher.

The Shanghai Composite Index is now 40% below its June peak, but still 40% higher than it was 12 months ago.

The mood was somewhat buoyed by sentiment in the US where Wall Street staged an impressive comeback following six consecutive days of losses.

The S&P 500 which measures the fortunes of America's biggest 500 companies closed up 3.9%.

The Dow Jones was up nearly 4% marking the biggest single-day gains in both of these indicies since 2011.

The US markets were supported by comments from the president of the New York branch of the Fed, William Dudley.

He said that rationale for a rate hike next month had become "less compelling."

Earlier this week, Sir Martin Sorrell told Sky News' City Editor, Mark Kleinman, that a 2015 rate rise in the US was now "off the table."