Europe stocks close with strongest gains for nine months as global rebound continues

This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

LONDON — European stocks closed higher on Wednesday in their best performance for more than nine months, as global markets continued to shake off the recent rout.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session up 1.56%, its strongest session performance since Nov. 2, 2023, according to LSEG data. Banks clawed back recent steep losses to gain 3%, while financial services added 2.36%.

Global stocks have whipsawed so far in August, tumbling across the first three sessions before returning to a positive trajectory on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Asia-Pacific markets kicked the session off on a positive note as Japan's Nikkei posted its best day since October 2008.

U.S. markets later joined the rally, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gaining 1.4%.

Europe's Stoxx 600 index closed 1.56% higher on Wednesday, its best single-session performance for more than nine months.

France's CAC 40 leapt 1.9%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.75% and Germany's DAX was 1.47% higher.

— Jenni Reid

European banks traded more than 3% higher Wednesday afternoon, regaining some ground after a run of five sharply negative sessions.

Banking stocks have been shaken this month, both by the global downturn in equities and the prospect of lower interest rates, along with a mixed earnings season in which the likes of HSBC and Standard Chartered shone as Deutsche Bank fell to a net loss.

Sector gains came despite Germany's Commerzbank sliding 3.7%, even as it reported net profit for the second quarter ahead of consensus expectations.

— Jenni Reid

The Japanese yen depreciated 2.04% at 147.28 per U.S. dollar Wednesday morning.

The yen is now down from its seven-month high of 141.675 from Monday, but is still up nearly 2%