The London market surged 2.6 per cent higher after a profit upgrade from supermarket Sainsbury's and gains from hard-hit miner Glencore, but still slid to its worst quarterly fall in four years.

The FTSE 100 Index added 153.4 points to 6061.6 - after losing 200 points over the previous two sessions - amid a global market fight-back as equity volatility shows no sign of abating.

Markets rose overnight on Wall Street and Asia, with Europe following suit. In London there was only one faller in the top flight.

The Dax in Germany and France's Cac 40 were around 2.5 per cent higher. In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average is around 200 points up in early trading.

But experts said global markets had hit their worst quarterly performance for four years after a lengthy rout that started in August as fears emerged over China's slowing economy.

The top flight is seven per cent down compared to the previous quarter, its sharpest fall since September 2011.

In London, the rally was also helped by economic cheer as the latest national accounts figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the UK economy emerged from recession more strongly than previously thought.

The ONS said growth was stronger between 2011 and 2013 than first estimated as it also confirmed second quarter growth of 0.7%.

The pound was a cent up against the euro at just over 1.35, but was slightly lower against the US dollar at just over 1.51.

Among stocks, Sainsbury's saw its shares soar by 14 per cent or 31.7p to 261p after it said full-year profits would now be "moderately" ahead of City expectations after narrowing sales declines in its second quarter.

The chain posted a 1.1 per cent drop in like-for-like second-quarter sales, excluding fuel - its seventh quarter of falling sales in a row.

But the decline was better than the 2.1 per cent fall seen in the previous three months and Sainsbury's said it saw the number of sales and transactions rise, while it added that lower average basket spend in supermarkets continued to stabilise.

Other supermarkets followed it higher, with Tesco 11.9p up at 183.2p and Morrisons 10p ahead at 166.1p.

Glencore was the biggest blue-chip riser after a dramatic 29 per cent slump on Monday after reissuing a statement first released late yesterday assuring it was "operationally and financially robust" and pledging to slash its $30 billion (£19.8bn) debt pile by a third.

Its shares rose by another 14 per cent, or 11.3p to 91.6p, following a 17 per cent bounce-back yesterday.

Energy giant SSE also gained strongly after a bullish update, lifting four per cent or 59p to 1496p after saying it expected to earn around a third of its full-year profits in the first half after a robust performance from its wholesale arm and "relatively good" half-year for its residential energy supply business.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 index were Glencore up 11.3p at 91.6p, Sainsbury's up 31.7p at 261p, Tesco up 11.9p at 183.2p and Morrisons up 10p at 166.1p.

The only faller on the FTSE 100 index was Fresnillo down 5p at 591.5p.