"Today had all the making of a classic relief rally across the global macro space until a spate of negative headlines threatened to morph the bounce from one of respite to that of the dead cat variety," Marex Spectron's Dee Perera said from the LME desk.
European markets closed lower but Australasian and North American indices finished higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 4.9%.
Futures were mixed.
Metals and mining stocks gained a collective 9.7% in Toronto yesterday.
Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.B) closed up 11%, while at the smaller end of the spectrum, junior NorZinc (TSX: NZC) gained 33.3% to close at C6c, up 1.5c from the previous day's one-year low.
Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) rose 3.4% in London and Newmont (NYSE: NEM) closed 1.3% higher in New York.
In morning Australian trade, nickel miner Western Areas (ASX: WSA) was down more than 8% but iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) was up 4% at the time of writing.