Wall Street rebounded from its worst week ever with one of its best single days ever on Monday as investors reacted positively to efforts to ease the credit crunch by governments and central banks

Led by the UK, European governments agreed to multibillion-dollar guarantees for the banking system in moves that may become a crucial test of investor faith in government’s ability to reverse the downward spiral.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank also said they would lend commercial banks as much U.S. dollar liquidity as they needed to ease clogged interbank lending rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 936.42 points, or 11.08%, to 9,387.61, its biggest one-day point gain ever and its biggest percentage gain since March 15, 1933.

The S&P 500 also marked its largest single-day point gain, up 104.13 points, or 11.58%, to 1,003.35. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 194.74 points, or 11.81%, at 1,844.25, its biggest one-day point gain since January 2001.

Morgan Stanley drove the rally in financial shares, soaring 87%, after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group completed its US$9 billion investment in the U.S. bank.

Wachovia climbed 13.6% after the U.S. Federal Reserve approved the US$12.46 billion takeover of the U.S. bank by Wells Fargo & Co.

Canadian financial markets were closed Monday in observance of Thanksgiving Day.