A monitor screen flashes a U.S. dollar-Japanese yen exchange rate, above, and the Nikkei stock average at a foreign exchange firm in central Tokyo on Wednesday Aug. 10, 2011. Asian stock markets jumped... (Associated Press) 
 
 Global stock markets rose Wednesday following a surge on Wall Street triggered by a Federal Reserve pledge to keep interest rates super low for the next two years to help the ailing U.S. economy. 
 
 Oil prices rose to near $82 a barrel, while the dollar slid against the yen and the euro. European shares were slightly higher in early trading after a restorative rally in Asia. 
 
 Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.2 percent to 5,177.23. Germany's DAX was 0.9 percent higher at 5,977.73 while the CAC-40 in Paris dipped 0.3 percent into negative territory at 3,153.01. 
 
 Meanwhile, Wall Street appeared set to capitulate after sizable gains the day before. Dow Jones industrial futures drooped 134 points, or 1.2 percent, to 11,060 and broader S&P 500 futures gave up 12.90 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,158.80. 
 
 On Tuesday, the Dow finished with a 429-point gain after the Fed said it would keep its key interest rate at a record low of nearly zero through the middle of 2013. The index dived 634.76 points the day before after Standard and Poor's cut the U.S. government's credit rating, sending shock waves through global markets. 
 
 Analysts warned investors to brace for more sharp swings in markets amid a dearth of signs of improvement in the global economy. 
 
 "There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the market, and negatives will add to that. So if we see an increase in unemployment from the U.S., that is going to cause an increase in volatility," said Samuel LeCornu, portfolio manager at Macquarie Funds Group in Hong Kong. 
 
 Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.1 percent to close at 9,038.74 following a 7.6 percent loss in the last three days. Export shares, however, continued to struggle because of the strong yen, which hurts the country's export-driven economy by reducing the value of foreign earnings. 
 
 Honda Motor Co. lost 2.2 percent and rival Toyota Motor Corp. was down 0.9 percent. Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. fell 2.2 percent. 
 
 Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.3 percent to 19,783.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 2.4 percent. 
 
 The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9 percent to 2,549.18 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.4 percent. Indexes in Taiwan and India also gained. 
 
 South Korea's Kospi, which at one point Tuesday plummeted nearly 10 percent, added 0.3 percent to 1,806.24. 
 
 Gains in Asia were broad-based, with banking shares among the key movers. Australia's Westpac Banking Corp. was 4.6 percent higher and National Australia Bank Ltd. soared 6.1 percent. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's biggest bank by market value, gained 1 percent. 
 
 Shares in airlines, benefiting from expectations that lower oil prices will reduce jet fuel costs, were also sharply higher. Hong Kong-listed Air China climbed 4.3 percent. South Korea's Asiana Airlines rose 2.1 percent and Taiwan's EVA Airways Corp. bounced up 5.5 percent. 
 
 Worries about the U.S. economic recovery have been building since the government said that economic growth was far weaker in the first half of 2011 than economists expected. In a reversal of earlier forecasts, economists now believe there is a greater chance of another U.S. recession because the economy grew much more slowly in the first half of 2011 than previously thought. 
 
 The manufacturing and services industries barely grew in July. The unemployment rate remains above 9 percent, despite the 154,000 jobs added in the private sector in July. 
 
 Economies across the globe are also struggling. 
 
 Concerns are growing that Spain or Italy could become the next European country to be unable to repay its debts. High inflation in less-developed countries, which have been the world's main economic engine through the recovery, is another concern. China's inflation rose to a 37-month high in July. 
 
 Benchmark oil for September delivery was up $2.55 to $81.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude was up $2.81 to $105.40 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. 
 
 The dollar sank to 76.67 yen from 77.01 yen late Tuesday in New York. The euro strengthened to $1.4350 from $1.4222. ||||| Asian, European Markets Follow Wall Street, With Stocks Suffering Sharp Losses 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Shizuo Kambayashi/AP 
 
 Updated at 4:30 a.m. ET 
 
 Asian and European markets tumbled Tuesday after dizzying losses on Wall Street that saw the Dow Jones industrial average shed 4.6 percent, its biggest loss in six and a half years. 
 
 In Europe, where the trading day was in full swing, the London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX 30 and France's CAC 40 were all trending down. 
 
 In Asia, where the exchanges had all closed: 
 
 Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 4.7 percent, closing Tuesday to 21,610.24 after a rally in the last hour shaved off some off the losses. 
 
 Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 30,626.41, down just over 5 percent. 
 
 The Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.35 percent to 3,370.65 
 
 Singapore's STI was down 2.7 percent. 
 
 Australia's benchmark S&P; ASX 200 slide was off 192.9 points, or 3.2 percent, ending the day at 5,833.30 
 
 South Korea's Kospi shed 1.54 percent. 
 
 "It's pretty crazy," Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia, said, according to MarketWatch. "There has been a large portion of people who don't quite understand why things have happened." 
 
 Channel News Asia writes: 
 
 "Tokyo led a collapse throughout the region, diving more than five percent, with Hong Kong down more than four percent and Sydney sinking three percent. Other assets were also hammered, with a slump in oil prices scything energy firms, while higher yielding currencies have been hit by a flight to safe havens." 
 
 Yoshinori Shigemi, market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, is quoted in Singapore's The Straits Times as saying that with inflation likely in the U.S., the appeal of equities will gradually erode, although the markets might well rebound in the short run. 
 
 "In the end, the [U.S. Federal Reserve] will have to hike rates. And if it doesn't, long-dated bonds will be sold off on worries about inflation. Either way, that is going to slow down the economy. Rising wages also mean corporate profit margins will be squeezed gradually down the road," Shigemi tells the newspaper. ||||| Stocks plummeted on global-growth fears for a second straight day Friday in a plunge that dragged the Dow industrials into correction territory. 
 
 The global market rout pummeled stocks and commodities as fresh evidence emerged that China’s economy is slowing, spooking investors. 
 
 The Dow industrials lost 530.94 points, or 3.1%, to close at 16459.75, putting it in correction territory, as defined by a 10% decline from a recent high. The S&P 500 dropped 64.84 points, or 3.2%, to close at 1970.89. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.5%, or 171.45 points, to 4706.04. 
 
 The Dow’s more than 1,000-point drop this week was the largest weekly drop since the week ended Oct. 10, 2008. 
 
 Related Video U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday as the Dow industrials plunged 531 points, dragging the index into correction territory. WSJ's Geoff Rogow and Barron's Jack Hough discuss what's spooking investors and the outlook for global markets in the week ahead. Photo: Getty 
 
 U.S. oil prices also briefly dropped below $40 a barrel on Friday, a level not seen since the financial crisis. 
 
 Signs of a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy have unnerved investors since Beijing surprised markets last week by devaluing its currency. Shares in the U.S., Asia and Europe have tumbled, along with commodity prices as investors fretted about waning Chinese demand just as supplies are surging. 
 
 The market turmoil has some traders exercising caution. 
 
 “You have a situation that’s tough to play,” said Christopher Cady, a New York-based trader. He said he closed out bets toward the end of the week that U.S. stocks would fall. “Nimble…is the new black.” 
 
 The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 ended the session 3.3% lower, closing out its biggest week of losses since August 2011. The index has now lost nearly 13% since its April peak, entering correction territory. 
 
 Earlier, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 4.3%, hitting its lowest level since March, despite Beijing’s efforts to prop up the market in recent weeks. In Japan, the Nikkei fell 3% to a six-week low. 
 
 An early gauge of China’s factory activity fell to a six-and-a-half year low in August, heaping further pressure on stocks and commodities after Thursday’s global selloff. 
 
 “Now we’ve had some harder evidence that China is slowing relatively fast, people have chosen to get out,” said Kiran Ganesh, a multiasset strategist at UBS Wealth Management, which oversees around $2 trillion of assets. 
 
 A surge in investor demand for assets considered safest during times of market stress sent the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds to 2.042%, its lowest level since April. Yields fall as bond prices rise. 
 
 The dollar fell by around 1% against the euro and Japan’s yen. The euro and yen have recently tended to rise during times of market stress. 
 
 Some investors and analysts say they think the tumult in the markets could complicate the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates. 
 
 “The Chinese have created an air of fragility around the globe. Markets will now surely have to firm up considerably for the Fed to pull the trigger next month,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid. 
 
 Ultralow interest rates have fueled a big rally in stock markets since the financial crisis. On Wednesday, minutes of the Fed’s latest policy meeting showed officials were divided over when to raise rates, with some citing concerns over China’s economy as a reason to hold back. 
 
 But a delay in lifting rates may bring little comfort to investors if slowing global growth is underpinning the Fed’s caution. 
 
 Paul O’Connor, a senior fund manager at Henderson Global Investors, which manages £82 billion ($129 billion) in assets, said he has been selling stocks and buying bonds in recent months, fearing further spillover from the recent Chinese selloff. 
 
 “Is there a buying opportunity in stuff that has got beaten up, or will it start to erode confidence in developed market assets? We’re in the latter camp,” he said. 
 
 Global equities suffered $8.3 billion of outflows in the week ended Thursday, representing the worst week in almost four months, according to data from Bank of America Merrill Lynch published Friday. Losses were particularly heavy in the emerging markets and the U.S. 
 
 The recent rout in commodity markets continued Friday as fears over waning Chinese demand intensified. 
 
 Oil prices extended their recent declines. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell 2.5% to around $45.48 a barrel, its lowest level since January. The U.S. benchmark settled down 2.1% at $40.45 a barrel. 
 
 Industrial metals prices also fell as the Chinese data reignited worries about the future pace of demand from the world’s top consumer. 
 
 “Commodity markets are telling us this is quite serious,” said Neil Dwane, head of European equities at Allianz Global Investors, which oversees EUR412 billion ($463 billion) of assets. 
 
 --Chiara Albanese, Christopher Whittall, Josie Cox and Ese Erheriene contributed to this article. 
 
 Write to Leslie Josephs at leslie.josephs@wsj.com and Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com
– It might be the worst day yet in an already lousy year for the stock market: The Dow was down more than 500 points shortly after noon, a fall of about 3.3%, and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down similar percentages. The news comes after yet another bad day for Asian stocks, with Japan's Nikkei falling into bear territory—roughly defined as 20% below a recent high, reports the Wall Street Journal. One huge, familiar factor: Oil prices continue to fall, with the price of a barrel now under $27 a barrel. "Obviously we're in the throes of an environment where sentiment is not positive about risk assets, so it takes very little to put pressure ... pressure coming from falling oil prices continues to serve as a cues for equities to follow suit," a strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott tells CNBC. This MarketWatch piece suggests "the bear market in stocks has finally arrived" for US investors.