7:00PM New York, 1:00AM Frankfurt, 9:00AM Sydney– U.S. market indexes edge closer to a bear market territory with Dow down 19.9% from its high in October and S&P 500 down 10% for the month.

U.S. stocks traded in a tight range with no direction after losing 3% in the previous session. The U.S. decline set-off a worldwide sell-off with India and China losing nearly 5% and Brazil declining 3%. Higher losses and charges at banks, rising inflation and stagnating economies are dragging stocks in the U.S. and around the world. Lehman increased estimate of losses at Merrill Lynch. Crude oil traded above $141 a barrel.

North American Markets indexes

Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 106.91 to a close of 11,346.51, S&P 500 closed down 4.77 or 0.37% to 1,278.38, and Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 5.74 or 0.25% to close at 2,315.63. In Toronto TSX Composite closed down 63.07 or 0.44% to 14,355.21.

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average none gained, 8 declined and 22 closed unchanged.

JP Morgan Chase led the decliners in the Dow Jones index with a fall of 3.5% followed by losses in Procter & Gamble of 2.8%, in United Tech Corp of 2.6%, in Home Depot of 2.6% and in Coca Cola of 2.59%.

Merck & Company led the gainers in the Dow Jones with a rise of 2.2% followed by increases in General Motors of 1.05%, in Pfizer Inc of 0.6%, in Chevron Corp of 0.4%, in Alcoa Inc of 0.23%.

Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 187 increased, 308 declined, and 5 were unchanged. Of the index stocks 19 increased more than 3% and 33 declined more than 3%.

Micron Technology led the decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 13% followed by International Game Technology of 8.8%, in ConAgra Foods of 6%, in Manitowoc Company of 5.8%, in Lennar Corp of 5.4%.

Murphy Oil Corp led the gainers in the S&P 500 with a rise of 5.3%, in CIT Group of 5.2%, in Mylan Inc of 5.2%, in Autozone Inc of 4.8%, Sears Holdings of 4.5% and in Barr Pharmaceuticals of 4.3%.

European Markets Indexes

The CAC 40 retreated 0.62% to 4,398.58. In Germany the DAX 30-index fell 32.63 points or 0.51% to 6,426.97. Shares in Switzerland fell as the Swiss Market index dropped 88.19 points or 1.27% to 6,861.54. The FTSE 100 fell 5.10 points or 0.09% to 5,513.10.

European Gainers and losers

Vallourec led the gainers in the CAC 40 index stocks with a rise of 5.46% to 219.87 euros followed by gains in Bouygues of 3.43% to 42.19 euros, in Total of 1.60% to 52.71 euros, in Michelin of 1.56% to 45.57 euros and in Saint Gobain of 1.28% to 41.15 euros.

Carrefour led the decliners in the CAC 40 index with a loss of 7.84% to 34.91 euros followed by losses in Dexia of 4.09% to 10.09 euros, in Cap Gemini of 2.65% to 37.10 euros, in Alcatel-Lucent of 2.44% to 3.81 euros and in Lafarge of 2.43% to 98.25 euros.

Among the DAX 30 index shares, ThyssenKrupp led the gainers with a rise of 2.19% to 40.55 euros followed by gains in Bayer of 1.81% to 52.91 euros, in E.ON AG of 1.25% to 127.19 euros, in Continental of 0.50% to 64 euros and in Volkswagen of 0.33% to 178.59 euros.

MAN AG led the decliners in the DAX 30 index with a fall of 3.41% to 72.85 euros followed by losses in Deutsche Borse of 2.95% to 71.63 euros, in Daimler of 2.90% to 39.89 euros, in Hypo Real Estate Holdings of 2.69% to 18.47 euros and in Deutsche Bank of 2.45% to 55.76 euros.

South American Markets Indexes

Argentina led the gainers in the Latin American markets with a rise of 0.99% followed by increases in Venezuela of 0.8%, in Brazil of 0.59%, in Mexico of 0.33%, in Colombia of 0.23%. Chile led the decliners in the region with a loss of 0.59% and in Peru of 0.35%.

Asian markets