Jul 2 - A steep slide pushed the Dow and Nasdaq to close in bear market territory as a spike in oil to a record near $144 a barrel fueled inflation and economic jitters.The Dow tumbled 166 points to 11,215. The S&P 500 fell 23 points to 1,261. The Nasdaq shed 2.3 percent, or 53 points, to 2,251.
Crude oil jumped $2.60 to a record of $143.57 a barrel.Conway Gittens reports
