The U.S. Federal Reserve in coordination with European central banks says it will expand a series of efforts to deal with the global credit crisis.

The Fed today announced that it was boosting the amount of emergency reserves it supplies to U.S. banks to US$150 billion in May, from the $100 billion it supplied in April. The Fed took this action and several other moves to boost credit in coordination with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

Meanwhile, U.S. employment fell a fourth-straight month in April, but at a much slower pace than previous months.

Nonfarm payrolls declined 20,000 in April, the Labor Department said today. They fell 81,000 in March and 83,000 in February. Both were revised to show slightly larger drops.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5%.

There are no major economic reports from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US98.27¢, up 0.16 of a cent from Thursday’s close.

Crude oil prices edged slightly higher after falling in recent sessions, with the June-dated light crude contract up 56¢ to US$113.08 a barrel.

In earnings news, Sun Microsystems Inc. said late Thursday it swung to a third-quarter loss of US$34 million and only broke even before one-time costs.

Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks said its first-quarter loss widened, while sales rose 11%.

Viacom reported a 33% profit rise, topping analyst estimates.

In M&A news, Microsoft Corp. may go hostile in its bid for Yahoo Inc., according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

In Asia, markets a lift from the overnight rally on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 2.05% to 14,049.26.

In Europe, indexes gained ground as most markets reopened after a holiday, with financial firms and airlines pacing gainers. The FTSE 100 rose 0.96 in London, while France’s CAC 40 was up 0.86% and the German DAX rose 0.98%.

Toronto stocks powered higher on Thursday, as an afternoon rally in financials stocks offset a selloff in commodities.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 128.77 points, or 0.92%, at 14,065.81 after hitting a session low of 13,846.57.

The influential financials group jumped 2.2%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 8.85 points, or 0.36%, to close at 2,463.91.

U.S. stocks rose as a rebound in the dollar and retreating oil prices calmed fears about inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 189.87 points, or 1.48%, to 13,010.00. The S&P 500 surged 23.75 points, or 1.71%, to 1,409.34. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 67.91 points, or 2.81%, to 2,480.71.