Stock futures rose Monday after last week’s market tumble.

On Friday, North American stocks dropped sharply after a U.S. government report showed a jump in the unemployment rate and tepid payrolls growth.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US99.87¢, unchanged from Friday’s close.

South of the border, the week’s major market event is likely to come Thursday, when U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to deliver a speech.

In today’s investment news, Rogers Communications Inc. said it will double its annual dividend as the company predicted stronger revenue and operating profits for 2008.

Rogers announced before the opening of stock market trading that it will bump up its annual dividend immediately on its class A voting and class B non-voting shares to $1 apiece from the previous 50¢. The dividend will be paid out quarterly at 25¢ a share.

New York-based investment bank Jefferies Inc. has projected a fourth-quarter loss amid surging compensation costs and losses.

The consumer-electronics sector will be in focus as the annual Consumer Electronics Show continues in Las Vegas. Microsoft rose 1.4% to US$34.85 before the bell after Chairman Bill Gates said the software giant has sold 100 million licenses for Windows Vista, the company’s year-old operating system for personal computers.

Light sweet crude oil for February delivery dropped 52¢ to US$97.39 a barrel by midday in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures fell 20¢ to US$865.50 an ounce.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed down 1.3%. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.23%, Germany’s DAX index added 0.34% and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.41%.

On Friday, a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report and softer commodity prices helped drag Toronto stocks sharply lower.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 199.62 points, or 1.43%, at 13,778.58, the steepest decline in nearly three weeks.

The index was down 0.3% for the week, which was shortened by the New Year holiday.

The index tumbled immediately after the opening bell following U.S. government data that showed weak job growth in December and rising unemployment.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 26.94 points, or 0.93%, to 2,858.66.

The Canadian dollar moved down 1.05¢ to finish at US99.87¢.

In New York, stocks tumbled on Friday after rising unemployment fuelled fears of a recession.

The U.S. Labor Department reported job creation nearly ground to a halt in December and unemployment rose to a two-year high of 5%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 98.03 points, or 3.77%, at 2,504.65.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average fell 256.54 points, or 1.96%, to 12,800.18. The broader S&P 500 dropped 35.53 points, or 2.46%, to 1,411.63.