(Source: Bismarck Tribune)NEW YORK - U.S. stocks sprang higher on Monday as widespread buying fueled the Dow Jones Industrial Average's greatest intraday point gain on record after a frantic weekend of international government actions bolstered confidence in the banking sector and credit markets. General Motors Corp. surged more than 30 percent after reports the auto giant had contemplated a merger.

Stocks soared, with the major indexes up about 7 percent, after the Federal Reserve said central banks would offer banks unlimited amounts and Europe said it would guarantee bank loans.

On track for its largest daily percentage and point gain ever, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently ahead 587.17 points, or 6.9 percent, to 9,038.36.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 122.67 points, or 7.4 percent, to 1,772.18.

General Motors led the blue-chip advance, the automaker's stock up 32.9 percent.

Off the Dow, shares of Ford Motor Co. also rallied, gaining 24.6 percent amid reports of a possible merger between America's struggling car giants.

Of the Dow's 30 components, just two traded lower, with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. off 1.8 percent and General Electric Co. down 1.5 percent.

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