North American stock markets appear poised for another decline Monday after selloffs overseas, while crude oil prices dropped sharply. Markets in Asia and Europe fell, extending their slide into a second week.

Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 fell 1.5% in early trading, France’s CAC 40 slid 1.8% and Germany’s DAX sank 2.1%.

In Tokyo, Japanese stocks fell for a fifth day as the yen jumped to a three-month high against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged 575.68 points, or 3.34%, to 16,642.25 points.

The sharp rise in the yen is prompting concern that carry trades are being unwound. Carry trades are when investors borrow in low-yielding currencies, such as the yen or the Swiss franc, to invest outside the country.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index tumbled 4% to its lowest since mid-December.

Oil prices dropped sharply Monday amid stock market declines and concerns about the world economy. Light sweet crude for April delivery fell $1.12 to US$60.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at midday in Europe.

Gold futures dropped $3.70 to US$640.40 an ounce.

In other new, Co-CEO Jim Balsillie is resigning as chairman of Research In Motion after the firm reported over US$250 million in stock option accounting errors following an extensive review. The company said that Balsillie will retain his roles as co-chief executive, with Michael Laziridis, and director.

The BlackBerry maker plans to restate results for the prior three fiscal years, following a review of past stock-options grants. The company said it expects a US$250 million reduction on previous earnings.

In earnings news, HSBC Holdings announced it was taking a charge of US$10.57 billion, mostly on the bad loans it’s made in the subprime sector. The world’s third-largest bank however reported a 5% annual profit rise on emerging markets growth and lifted its dividend.

Toronto stocks dove lower Friday, closing out a negative week, as falling resource prices and nervous investors led the market down.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 117.86, or 0.91%, to 12,863.27, the fourth-straight session of losses.

For the week, the senior exchange fell 3.60%.



The S&P/TSX Venture composite index sank 70.66 points, or 2.25%, to 3,066.76.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 120.24 points, or 0.98%, to 12,114.10, the Nasdaq composite index lost 36.21, or 1.51%, to 2,368.00, and the S&P 500 gave up 16.00, or 1.14%, to 1,387.17.

For the week, the Dow fell 4.2%, its worst week since March 2003, while the S&P 500 lost 4.4%, its worst week since January 2003.