U.S. markets fall amid general gloom

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. markets slid Thursday amid general gloom and a cautionary speech by a General Motors Corp. executive.

GM and Ford Motor Co. shares fell 13.49 percent and 4.78 percent, respectively, after Troy Clarke, president of GM North America urged automakers to press Washington for help or risk a devastating blow to the economy, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Bank of England dropped its lending rate to 3 percent. The European Central Bank lowered its benchmark rate to 3.25 percent Thursday.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 443.48 points, or 4.85 percent, to 8,695.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 47.89, or 5.03 percent, to 904.88. The Nasdaq composite index lost 72.94, or 4.34 percent, to 1,608.70.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 538 stocks advanced and 2,575 declined on a volume of 6.4 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond was unchanged at 3.702 percent.

The euro fell to $1.2703, compared to $1.2918. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 97.74 yen, from 98.2 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 622.10 points to 8,899.14, down 6.53 percent.

The FTSE 100 index in London fell 5.7 percent, down 258.32, to 4,272.41 points.