Wall Street ends worst month in year on upbeat note

US stocks closed out the worst month in more than a year on an up note on Wednesday, with sharp gains in the last several days still not enough to repair the damage from a US credit downgrade and fears of a slide back into recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 53.58 points, or 0.46 percent, at 11,613.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.97 points, or 0.49 percent, at 1,218.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.35 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,579.46.

European shares ended higher on hopes the US Federal Reserve would support the fragile recovery with fresh stimulus measures, but that did not prevent shares recording their worst monthly drop since October 2008.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 2.9 percent at 967.09 points, but fell 10.6 percent for the month - its worst monthly performance since October 2008, just after the Lehman Brothers collapse.

The Nikkei stock average closed nearly flat, supported by expectations of more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve but under pressure as investors took profits after four days of gains, with concerns lingering about the US economy. The benchmark Nikkei finished up 0.01 percent, or 1.30 points, at 8,955.20. The broader Topix index gained 0.4 percent to 770.60, but lost 8.4 percent in August.