The Moody's corporate bond index fell 1.22 points, to 256.37, or about twice the previous day's decline.

High-yield bond indices exist for dedicated investors in the market.

Unlike other global bond indexes, the Morgan index will be updated on a daily basis.

Vanguard has attracted almost $12 milion in its bond index mutual fund for individuals.

Merrill Lynch & Co., $100 million of bond index linked securities due in 1998.

J P Morgan has three bond indices to track bonds in emerging markets.

Bonds had an average annual total return of 7.7 percent over the same period, as measured by the Lehman Brothers aggregate bond index.

Merrill Lynch's broad domestic bond index fell 3.36 percent in July alone, more than in any full year since 1976.

At the same time, there might be some pressure to buy WorldCom as it is added to high-yield or junk bond indexes.

Index funds and exchange-traded funds are available that track this bond index.