European share values have seen more dramatic falls, following similar sell-offs in the US and Asia.
But in a volatile morning's trading, indexes like London's FTSE 100, that had fallen up to 5.5%, were positive by lunchtime.
Traders remain on edge about the levels of debt facing the US and some eurozone countries, and the impact this could have on their already weak economies.
Bank shares remained among the worst hit with RBS down 7.5%.
However, there was better news on the bond markets where the yield on both Spanish and Italian government bonds fell for the second day.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has begun intervening in the markets to try to keep the cost of borrowing down for the two countries, which are struggling to avoid a Greece-style bail-out by the authorities.
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