By Stewart Lewis

(May 4 – 18:00 ET) – Stocks climbed today as investors took perverse pleasure in a jump in the U.S. unemployment rate and bet that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower interest rates to jump-start the economy.

Most major market indices initially fell after the U.S. Labor Department reported the economy lost jobs in April, boosting unemployment to 4.5%, the worst rate in ten years. But losses evaporated by early afternoon as interest rate speculation ran rampant.

The technology-based Nasdaq composite index gained 45.48 points, climbing to 2,191.68. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 154.59 points to 10,951.24.

In Toronto, the TSE 300 composite index started off on shaky ground but finished higher by day’s end. It rose 26.20 points to 7,981.70. Advancing issues exceeded declining issues 554 to 459. Trading volume was 127.3 million shares.

Eight of the TSE’s 14 sub-indices traded higher. The industrial products sub-index closed up a meager 0.01%.

Nortel Networks, the dominant force in that group, closed down 20¢ to $24.25. Fibre-optic equipment company JDS Uniphase rose $1.05 to $37.30. Wireless Internet device maker Research In Motion climbed $2.37 to $54.

The CDNX added 26.36 points, climbing to 3,126.52.