North American stocks drifted lower after trading in a narrow range Thursday. Uncertainty over Iraq kept investors on the sidelines. The S&P/TSX composite Index fell 31.75 points to 6,489.25.

Overall, 11 of the 13 TSX sector indices lost ground, but none of the losses were bigger than 1%.

The heavily weighted financial services index slid 0.62%. CIBC slipped 65¢to $41.75, while Bank of Montreal fell 50¢$40.20.

Air Canada was one of the day’s biggest losers. The airline’s shares fell 43¢ to $3.07 after posting $428 million annual loss.

Potash Corp shares dropped $2.17 to $89.15 despite posting better fourth quarter profits.

Husky Energy shares rose 15¢ to $16.25 after it reported record profit on higher oil prices.

Nortel rose 2¢ to $3.51.

Toronto volume was a thin 164.1 million shares valued at $2.05 billion. Market momentum carried a negative bias, as declining issues outnumbered advancers 621 to 431.

The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 1.21 points to 1,114.57.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 55.88 points to 7,929.30. The Nasdaq composite index closed flat at 1,301.73. The S&P 500 dipped 5.45 to 838.14.

The Canadian dollar rose against the U.S. dollar Thursday. The loonie closed at US65.91¢, up US65.74¢ at Wednesday’s North American close.

Investors are looking ahead to Friday’s unemployment reports from Canada and the United States.