On Wednesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for European banks to raise billions in new capital and for a stricter accounting of their exposure to sovereign debt. Barroso also called for a permanent bailout fund to come into force by mid-2012, one year ahead of schedule. Barroso's proposals for helping Europe's struggling banks fueled investor appetite for riskier assets like stocks. Investors also shrugged off Slovakia's rejection Tuesday of a measure to strengthen Europe's bailout fund, focusing hopes that a solution would be found before a summit of EU leaders next week.

In the U.S., meanwhile, companies have begun to release their third-quarter earnings reports, and so far the results have been mixed. The results "will be crucial" to determining the direction of stock markets over the coming days. PepsiCo Inc. rose 2.9 percent after the company said its income rose because of stronger sales of snacks and beverages, especially overseas. But Alcoa Inc. dropped 2.4 percent after the aluminum maker reported earnings that were weaker than analysts expected.

The Dow rose 0.9 percent to close at 11,518.85. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,207.25. The Warsaw Stock Exchange Index (WIG) rose 2.37 percent to 40182,11, UAIndex has shown an average growth of 1.31 percent as riskier stock were in demand during Wednesday trading session.

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