European markets ended higher after a volatile session on Tuesday as investors went bargain hunting for battered stocks in spite of a continued flow of bad news.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of leading European shares added 1.9 per cent to 825.31 points, in Germany the Xetra Dax rose 3.1 per cent to 4,531.79 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 2.4 per cent to 3,152.90 points.