Major U.S. markets hit bear conditions

NEW YORK, July 2 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes fell Wednesday with two major boards falling more than 20 percent off their peaks, indicating bear market conditions.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,215.51, down 20.8 percent from its October record, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Nasdaq index also closed in bear territory, the Journal reported.

Markets began to fall midday when Merrill Lynch analysts warned "bankruptcy is not impossible" for General Motors Corp.

GM shares closed down 15.06 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was off 1.46 percent or 166.75 points on the day. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.32 percent or 53.51 points to 2,251.46. The Standard and Poor's 500 index also fell, down 23.39 or 1.82 percent to 1,261.52.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 824 stocks advanced and 2,341 declined on a volume of 1.518 billion shares traded.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 11/32, to yield 3.965 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro traded at $1.5875 from Tuesday's $1.588, while the dollar traded at 105.84 yen from Tuesday's 105.99 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index lost 176.83 points to 13,286.37, off 1.31 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 53.60 points to 5,426.30, down 0.98 percent.