U.S. stocks rebounded this morning after the Dow Jones industrial average fell by more than 200 points yesterday and world stocks closed up, the Associated Press reported.

The market winner in Europe was Germany’s DAX, which was up 10.2 percent to 4,777.07. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 6.4 percent to 7,621.92 after falling to a new 26-year low earlier in the day, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 14.4 percent to 12,596.29 after plummeting 12 percent yesterday.

A worldwide rally could help boost U.S. markets today. As of 11:10 this morning, the Dow was up nearly 150 points to 8,323.76.

Meanwhile, demand for bonds is down. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose to 3.8 percent from 3.69 percent late yesterday and the yield on three-month Treasury bills increased to 0.85 percent from 0.77 percent.

The Federal Reserve is expected to begin a two-day meeting today and might lower the federal funds rate to 1 percent, a half-point cut, to try to continue to boost investor confidence.

However, world news could hurt markets. Iceland announced it needs $6 billion in financial support, and the government raised its interest rate 6 percentage points to 18 percent to make its currency more attractive to foreign investors. Also the German foreign minister said today that Pakistan must secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund within a week to avoid a financial crisis.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government’s announcement that it would begin purchasing stock in nine major and 10 regional banks yesterday has spurred critics who believe the plan will favor stronger banks and eliminate weak ones. Already several banks that have received preliminary approval from the Treasury Department to participate in the $700 billion bailout program have said they will use some of the money for acquisitions.

The goal of the bailout is to rejuvenate lending by bolstering banks’ balance sheets, but the Treasury Department has given stronger banks the go-ahead to use the money to make deals. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. announced Friday it plans to acquire National City Corp. for $5.58 billion. PNC claimed it has received $7.7 billion in cash by selling stock to the government, while National City has said it believes it will not be able to participate in the federal bailout program.