Stocks dropped on all major North American indexes Monday as uncertainty in Iraq continues to spur worries over oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite stock index dropped 40.69 points to 8,147.39, led by another tumble of Nortel’s stocks.

Nortel fell 38¢ to $4.61 after a report from the Wall Street Journal, which stated that the telecom equipment-maker gave some of its executives cash bonuses just weeks before the company’s shares dropped on a restatement warning. On Friday, Nortel received a subpoena for documents from U.S. authorities in Dallas, as part of a criminal investigation.

The TSX gold sector was the only group that made gains today, as the price of bullion increased US$2.50 to $379.20. Bema Gold rose 12¢ higher to $3.44. Gabriel Resources added 8¢ to $1.73.

Meanwhile, the junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slid 0.61 of a point lower to 1,553.13.

In New York, stocks were badly shaken by investor uncertainty over Iraq, oil prices and interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 105.96 points, or 1.06%, at 9,906.91. The S&P 500 index fell 11.62 points to1,084.08.

That marked the lowest closing levels for both these indexes since December 2003.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index slid 27.61 points, or 1.45%, to 1,876.64, its lowest finish since last October.