Global stocks rally on central bank hopes

World stocks rose more than 2 percent, recovering a bit from recent weakness Wednesday on hopes that major central banks might act to bolster a slowing global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 286.84 points, or 2.37 percent, at 12,414.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 29.63 points, or 2.30 percent, at 1,315.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 66.61 points, or 2.40 percent, at 2,844.72.

Riskier banking and mining stocks led a technical rally among Europe's top shares, as hopes of central bank action to beef up the euro zone economy remained despite the ECB resisting pressure to intervene in the short term.

The FTSEurofirst rose 2.2 percent, or 21.09 points, to close at 974.21, while Britain's FTSE, which is heavily weighted towards mining and banking assets, jumped 2.4 percent and Germany's Dax added 2.1 percent.

In Asia, Nikkei average rose, recovering further from Monday's six-month closing low as investors looked to policy makers to counter the euro zone crisis, and Australian and U.S. data offered some positive news. The Nikkei closed up 1.8 percent at 8,533.53.

The broader Topix index added 1.5 percent to close at 718.56 after shattering the 700-mark on Monday to hit a more than 28-year low.