New York- 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)