Wall Street tried to hold onto early gains on Monday, as investors boosted by China's US$586 billion stimulus package also worried about auto giants.

US stocks' early rally followed advance in Asia and Europe after China announced plans to boost its economy through a mix of spending, subsidies, looser credit policies and tax cuts. Commodity stocks led the big board higher.

The market was also boosted by corporate news from insurance giant American International Group Inc., and McDonald's. The US government on Monday provided another US$40 billion financial assistance to AIG, which sent the bailout of AIG up to around 150 billion dollars, after the company reported a loss of US$24.47 billion for the third quarter.

McDonald's is among the best performers on Monday, after the company reported global comparable sales up 8.2 percent in October.

Meanwhile, investors also closely watched developments with General Motors Corp., Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. as the automakers are seeking financial help from the government. GM was downgraded to "sell" at Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank also cut its target price to zero. GM tumbled 30 percent in early trading.

In other corporate news, Circuit City Stores Inc., the second-biggest US electronics retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.

The Dow Jones rose 85.55 to 9,029.36. Broader indexes also climbed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 5.46 to 936.45; and the Nasdaq rose 2.01 to 1,649.41.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2008)