British and other European shares have risen sharply on growing expectations that of further cuts to interest rates further by central banks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 7.51% to 897.06 points on Wednesday.
In France, the CaC 40 added 9.23%. However, in Germany, the Dax index was down 1.5%.
In Britain, FTSE 100 index closed up 8.05% at 4,242.54.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was barely changed, rising 0.6% in early trading, following a jump of 11% on Tuesday.
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut US rates from 1.5% to 1% on Wednesday.
The Bank of England and European Central Bank are also expected to cut rates next week.
UK interest rates are currently at 4.5%. The ECB interest rate for the eurozone stands at 3.75%.
other markets
The Nikkei index in Japan earlier rose by 7.7%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 1.4%.
However, in South Korea, the Kospi closed down slightly at 968.97.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 index was up 1.34%.
New Zealand's NZX 50 ended the trading day 2.2% higher to close at 2746 on turnover of $88 million.
Contact Energy was up 51 cents to $7.15, Telecom fell 6c to $2.21 and Fletcher Building rose 8 cents to $5.61. The Warehouse rose 17c to $3.82.
