The idea of finding a way to help ease the financial shock to investors who have suffered huge stock market losses in recent weeks is beginning to gain ground in Congress as the White House and senior Democrats cool to the idea of cutting capital gains taxes.

One idea being discussed is a more generous treatment of capital losses. A bipartisan group of senators, including Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, and Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat, are pushing the idea of increasing the capital loss an individual may deduct to $10,000 from the current $3,000, plus indexing it against future inflation.

The idea is just one of many now coming up for discussion as US policymakers look for elements to include in a possible economic stimulus package. What to include in such a plan has become the focus of a low-profile working group in the White House known as the Domestic Consequence Group, which helped co-ordinate the recent $15bn airline aid package. It is chaired by Josh Bolton, who is deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, and includes senior economic advisers such as Lawrence Lindsey and Glen Hubbard.

Adding a cautionary voice to the economic stimulus debate on Monday, Anne Krueger, the newly installed deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said she saw no immediate need for further monetary or fiscal actions to boost the US economy.

Mirroring recent remarks made by Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve chairman, and others, she said policymakers should wait for a clearer picture of the economic outlook in the wake of the terrorist attacks before taking further action.

"I would not regard further measures as being called for," she said, but added that circumstances may yet change dramatically enough to justify more stimulative measures.

Part of the reticence about moving too quickly on a stimulus package can be traced to a sentiment, shared by many in the White House as well as in Congress, that a hefty amount of stimulus has already been undertaken. The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates eight times this year. The federal government has provided $40bn in tax-cut rebates to individual taxpayers this year as part of the first major instalment of President George W. Bush's tax cut. And Congress recently passed another $40bn in emergency relief aid to help cover security and recovery costs stemming from the attacks in New York and Washington.