The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 1.1 percent by 1222 GMT, after falling as much as 3.2 percent during Thursday's rout, which was triggered by the arrest of the chief financial officer of Chinese smartphone-maker Huawei in Canada.
The arrest, coming on the heels of a 90-day trade truce between the United States and China, triggered fears that the dispute could escalate further and dented hopes for a resolution.
The MSCI All-Country World Index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, was up 0.3 percent on the day, on track to end the week down 2 percent.
Chinese shares, which were up earlier in the day, slipped into negative territory with the blue chips off 0.1 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.1 percent, though that followed a 1.8 percent drubbing on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei added 0.8 percent.
Markets also face a test from US payrolls data later in the session amid speculation that the US economy is heading for a tough patch after years of solid growth.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were last down 0.5 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasised the strength of the labour market in remarks late on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters estimated that jobs rose by 200,000 in November after surging 250,000 in October. The data is due at 1330 GMT.
"Investors are increasingly anxious about the longevity of the economic cycle, given recent financial market weakness, and they are focusing more on the timing of the next global downturn and the various stresses this could expose," wrote HSBC economist James Pomeroy in a note.
"But for all of the volatility in the equity, credit and oil markets, most of the global economic data have stayed relatively sanguine. US data remain robust - with business optimism and job openings up at cycle highs, and the hard activity data are consistent with a robust pace of growth."
The mood in risk-asset markets brightened a little after the Wall Street Journal reported Fed officials were considering whether to signal a new wait-and-see mentality after a likely rate increase at their meeting in December.
That only added to recent speculation that the central bank was almost done hiking rates, given concerns about global growth and the disinflationary impact of collapsing oil prices.
Interest rate futures rallied hard in massive volumes with the market now pricing in less than one hike next year. A month ago they had been betting on three increases.
The news helped Wall Street pare steep losses and the Dow ended Thursday down 0.32 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.15 percent. The Nasdaq managed to advance 0.42 percent.