Some see signs that bull run has gone the distance

With key indexes down sharply in recent weeks, analysts wonder if a bear market might already be underway.
By Tom Petruno
Los Angeles Times

Wall Street is beginning to face its primal fear: that the 5-year-old bull market may be over.

With oil prices at record highs, the dollar plunging, consumer confidence falling and no end to the housing slump in sight, the stock market has tumbled in the last few weeks.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 211.10 points on Wednesday to 12,799.04, a seven-month low. Key blue-chip indexes now are down nearly 10% from their recent record highs, and indexes of smaller stocks are down almost 14%.

After rebounding in September and October from the August dive brought on by the financial industry's woes, the market has been unable to hold on to its gains.

That has convinced some investment pros that stocks have begun a bear market -- meaning a decline that ultimately would slash at least 20% from major indexes such as the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500, as worried investors pull away.

Typically, bear markets foreshadow a troubled economy.

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