Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Tuesday.
Oil-sensitive airline stocks were among the biggest gainers as crude fell to a three-month low around $118 a barrel, calming recent fears over inflation and corporate costs. Ryanair rose 11 percent and British Airways added 5 percent, while Air France-KLM, which posted better than expected earnings, gained 9.4 percent.
"It's really the fact that the oil price has gone below $120 a barrel, simple as that," says Neil Glynn, analyst at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed up 2.6 percent at 1,182.31 points. The index is down 22 percent on the year.
The All-share index closed at 26,410.98 points, up 535.35 or 2.07 percent. The All Gold index closed at 1,912.49 points, up 28.44 or 1.51 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 18,712.24 points, up 466.69 or 2.56 percent.