Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $8,543 a tonne at 1715 GMT.
Prices of the metal used in electrical wiring slid 3.7% on Wednesday, the biggest one-day fall since July, as a plunge in Credit Suisse's value followed the collapse of two mid-sized U.S. lenders last week.
Copper briefly fell to $8,442 after the European Central Bank pushed ahead with a 0.5% interest rate rise, but soon recovered along with European and U.S. stock markets. Reports suggested that several big U.S. banks were working on a deal to help troubled lender First Republic Bank , boosting its stock, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. banking system remains sound.
Copper prices were hovering below their 100-day moving average, which could become a technical resistance level.
"With the loss in confidence, you get an effective credit tightening... every risk asset out there is seeing some sort of damage," said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah.
A risk-averse mood on wider markets could hold copper prices down but the metal's fundamentals remain strong, Shah said, pointing to rising demand in China and planned spending globally on electrification and infrastructure.
In China, the biggest consumer, Yangshan copper import premiums have begun to rise, pointing to improving demand. On the supply side, First Quantum Minerals has resumed operations at its Cobre Panama copper mine, streaming company Franco-Nevada Corp said on Wednesday.
LME aluminium was roughly unchanged at $2,277.50 a tonne, zinc was also flat at $2,866.50, nickel rose 1.6% to $23,370, lead slipped 0.1% to $2,068 and tin was down 1.6% at $22,110.
(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi;
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Shailesh Kuber)
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