North American stocks are poised to open higher Monday with focus on the technology sector amid talk of interest in Nokia from Cisco Systems.

A report out of the UK says Cisco is considering buying Finnish handset maker Nokia. Cisco and Nokia declined to comment on the report.

Meanwhile, crude-oil prices rose to a new high Monday, reaching nearly US$63 a barrel, as the U.S. government announced the closure of its embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia due to security threats and on continued concerns that earlier shutdowns of U.S. oil refineries would reduce supply.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada said municipalities issued more than $5.0 billion in building permits for the fourth time since the beginning of the year in June, in the wake of high construction intentions in both the residential and non-residential sectors.

Overall, the value of permits rose 1.5% from May, the government agency said. Economists had forecast a gain of 2%.

In this morning’s earnings news, Nortel Networks announced a second-quarter profit of US$45 million.

In business news, Bank of Montreal said selling Harrisdirect, its U.S.-based discount brokerage, to E-Trade Financial Corp. for $910 million. The deal comes after Ameritrade’s recent deal to buy rival TD Waterhouse USA and create TD Ameritrade, 39% by the Canadian financial group that includes Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 12.5 points, or 0.11% , to 11,778.98.

In Hong Kong, shares edged up to a 4 1/2-year high as CNOOC Ltd. and other oil companies rose on the back of higher oil prices. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 57.62 points, or 0.38%, to 15,108.94.

The Canadian dollar opened at US82.34¢, up 0.11 of a cent. Last Friday, the loonie had dropped 0.16 a cent.

North American markets also fell Friday, as economic news on both sides of the border had investors feeling bearish.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 76.20, or 0.72%, to 10,550.51.

Statistics Canada reported the unemployment rate edged up 0.1% to 6.8% in July. There were 5,900 jobs created in July, below economists’ expectations of between 20,000 and 25,000.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 5.31, or 0.29%, to finish 1,832.11.

In New York, better than expected employment numbers gave rise to inflation worries and fears the U.S. Federal Reserve would be led to raise rates

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 52.07, or 0.49%, to 10,558.03; the Nasdaq composite index fell 13.41, or 0.61%, to 2,177.91; and the S&P 500 index dropped 9.44, or 0.76%, to 1,226.42.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that non-farm payrolls grew by 207,000, above expectations. However, the unemployment rate held steady at 5% as more workers entered the labor force in search of jobs last month.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.8%, the Nasdaq declined 0.3% and the S&P 500 dropped 0.6%.