First Republic Bank rescue talks now involve the likes of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.

US officials are holding urgent talks on the future of the bank after private sector banks were so far unable to come up with a solution to save the stricken regional lender, according to Reuters.

The bank has been under stress since the banking crisis in March triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

5 things to start your day 

1) Amazon shares jump as it bucks inflation crisis to post best profit in over a year | The tech company's booming advertising business helped ease pressure on its online shopping division

2) Depositors will get emergency access to cash if bank goes bust under new proposal | Officials are exploring heightened cover for depositors in the wake of recent instability

3) UK watchdog used as ‘tool’ by Biden’s anti-tech administration, Activision claims | Merger's architects plan to appeal ruling but face fresh challenges from US and EU regulators

4) How battery fires and ‘phantom braking’ drove the Tesla revolution off the road | A champion of new technologies, Elon Musk's company is attracting increasing scrutiny

5) Blow for Biden as US economy slows sharply and recession threat grows | Slowing growth comes after months of interest rate rises and coincides with reduced hiring

What happened overnight 

Shares advanced in Asia after Wall Street rallied to its best day since January and the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged.

In its first policy meeting under its new governor, Kazuo Ueda, the BOJ kept its key policy rate at minus 0.1pc even as Japan reported inflation excluding volatile fresh food costs was at 3.5pc in March.

Japan's central bank has overshot its inflation target of 2pc, but expects conditions to worsen since the US and other major economies are thought to be headed for recession.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index added 1.3pc to 28,822.96 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.6pc to 19,959.93

The Shanghai Composite index surged 0.7pc to 3,309.46, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney edged 0.2pc higher to 7,306.30.

The Kospi in Seoul edged 0.1pc higher, to 2,498.32. India's Sensex added 0.1pc and benchmarks in Southeast Asia fell.

All three major US stock indexes surged in a broad rally, with megacap tech and tech-related companies boosting the Nasdaq to its biggest one-day percentage gain since mid-March.

All three major indices finished solidly higher, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumping 2.4pc to 12,142.24.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.6pc to 33,826.16, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.0pc to 4,135.35.

Upbeat quarterly results from Facebook-owner Meta, following similarly strong earnings from Microsoft, Google-parent Alphabet added fuel to the rally.