NEW YORK - US stocks rebounded from an opening plunge on Wednesday after coordinated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and five central banks in the latest bid to unblock a credit freeze that is roiling markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 89.28 points, or 0.95 percent, higher at 9,536.39 around 1350 GMT (8.50pm Singapore time), after plummeting 149.34 points in the first three minutes of trade.

The blue-chip index slumped 5.11 per cent on Tuesday, a day after falling below 10,000 for the first time in four years.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 19.98 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 1,774.86 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 12.99 points, or 1.30 per cent, to 1,009.22.

In opening trade, the Nasdaq had lost 1.95 per cent and the S&P 500 lost 1.78 per cent.

Major central banks launched an exceptional joint effort to battle the global financial crisis on Wednesday, simultaneously slashing interest rates on three continents to bolster battered markets.

The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and peers in Canada, Sweden and Switzerland slashed key rates by a half percentage point, sending their strongest signal of support since just after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US.

News of the joint action sent shares sharply higher in futures trading before the market open, but Wall Street got off to a rocky start as frantic investors digested the rate cut actions.

'The big question now is, will the buying interest be sustained or will it be seen as another opportunity to sell into strength, fueled by the thinking that the rate cut still isn't enough to change the market tone?' asked Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

'Regardless of how today plays out, the rate cut is another supportive measure that raises the long-term appeal of equities at these depressed levels.

That last point could get washed away in another fear-based trade today,' he said.

'Ultimately, though, it should be held in trust by investors as a positive move for the economy and the capital markets.' -- AFP