S&P downturn longest in 30 years as bear mauls market

The bear mauled investors once more yesterday as the Standard & Poor's 500 index extended a downturn that was already the longest in almost 30 years and pushed any recovery in stocks further into the future.

The index closed below its April 4th close, marking the current downturn as lasting 369 days, just 69 days short of the 1973-1974 bear market. The drop in the index "increases concern going into the earnings warning season and will keep capital on the sidelines", said Jeff Kleintop, chief strategist for PNC Advisors, which oversees $65 billion (€71.9 billion).

A bear market is defined as a drop of 20 per cent or more in an index. The S&P 500 is down nearly 29 per cent since its all-time high in March 2000, and the bear market's end will only be known once it rises 20 per cent from the most recent low. According to BigTrends.com, a Lexington, Kentucky-based research firm, this bear market is the longest in nearly 30 years. The S&P 500 closed down 20.52, or 1.85 per cent to 1,085.78 -- below the 1,103.25 close of April 4th.