* Banks among the top performers
* Glencore rises as much as 14 percent
* 171 shares up, 21 down and 8 unchanged (Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)
By Pauline Askin and Cecile Lefort
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 1.6 percent on Thursday, led by across-the-board gains underpinned by strength on Wall Street and as embattled commodities group Glencore bounced from a collapse at the start of the week.
Twin surveys on China's manufacturing sector also provided some relief as the weak showings were not as bad as some had feared.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 80.5 points to 5,102.2 by 0301 GMT, extending a 2.1 percent jump on Wednesday, supported by bargain-buying led gains on Wall street overnight.
The index still posted its biggest quarterly loss in four years, reflecting turmoil in global financial markets on slackening global growth, particularly in China - Australia's major trading partner.
Mining and trading company Glencore GLEN.L staged a rally overnight after it fell almost 30 percent on Monday, boosting commodity prices.
"One of the factors that's helping the market is the rebound we are seeing in Glencore which was up 14 percent overnight," said Julia Lee, equities analyst at Bell Direct.
Also, Lee said, "seasonally what we have found is that in October we tend to see a fall in volatility which typically bodes well for investor concerns."
Financial stocks rose with Commonwealth Bank CBA.AX and ANZ ANZ.AX each up 1.5 percent while NAB NAB.AX gained 1.7 percent.
Mining giant BHP Billiton (LONDON:BLT) BHP.AX jumped 2.4 percent and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) rose 1.6 percent.
Copper miner Oz Minerals OZL.AX soared 17.52 percent on an unsourced rumour of a share raid. were back in the black following recent hefty losses.
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)