US stocks posted
significant gains early Thursday as President George W Bush sought to reassure
investors and investment bank Morgan Stanley reportedly began takeover talks.
The markets also appeared to be buoyed by the Federal Reserve's move - in
conjunction with five of the world's top central banks - to inject nearly 250
billion dollars of extra liquidity into the financial system.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had been up as much as 180 points, about 1.5
per cent, as Wall Street opened for business, and remained up 0.6 per cent
towards the end of morning trading. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index
was up 0.5 per cent.
The Dow tumbled more than 4 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 4.7 per cent on
Wednesday as investors feared more banks could lack the capital to remain
solvent in the ongoing credit crisis.
Morgan Stanley, one of only two remaining independent investment banks on Wall
Street, was in talks with Wachovia Corp about a possible takeover, US media
reported.
President Bush met with his economic advisors Wednesday and promised the
government would continue taking action as needed to quell the market turmoil, dpa reported.
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