US stocks end higher

US stocks ended sharply higher as Wall Street cheered over a strong rebound in overseas stock markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 235.57 points, or 1.47 percent, to 16,284.70. The S&P 500 surged 35.94 points, or 1.91 percent, to 1,920.03 on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

The Nasdaq Composite Index spiked 102.84 points, or 2.28 percent, to 4,620.17.

In Asia, Japanese stocks surged 2.70 percent on Wednesday, as investors moved to reclaim Tuesday's steep losses amid speculation that a surprise downturn in Japanese industrial production may push the Bank of Japan closer to further monetary easing.

Chinese shares closed higher on Wednesday, the last trading day before the country's seven-day National Day holiday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.48 percent.

European equities soared on Wednesday following a positive lead from Asia overnight, with French benchmark index CAC 40 leaping 2. 57 percent, as the stabilisation in commodities soothed anxious investors.

Some analysts suggested the global rally was likely due to traders chasing momentum stocks.

On the economic front, US private sector employment increased by 200,000 jobs from August to September, beating market consensus of 190,000, according to the September ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.

The ADP figure is watched closely as a pre-indicator for the nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Business Barometer declined 5.7 points to 48.7 in September, well below market estimates, according to the ISM-Chicago Business Survey on Wednesday.

"There is little doubt an emerging market recession and strong dollar have hurt manufacturing. Volatility and even outright weakness in manufacturing activity may be inescapable," chief economist at FTN Financial Chris Low said in a note.

Despite Wednesday's rally, the three major indices still saw big losses for the volatile month, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq falling 1.5 percent, 2.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.