US stocks and oil prices surged on Wednesday, with the major equity benchmarks rising by the most in almost 10 years, retracing some of the losses from a turbulent run-up to Christmas.

In a volatile session, the benchmark S&P 500 index finished 5 per cent higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 5 per cent, rising over 1,000 points for the first time in a single session, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 5.9 per cent. It marked the best day for each index since March 2009. The S&P 500 is now down 10.6 per cent for December, having fallen by as much as 15 per cent.