Global stock markets have been moving up and up since Mar 2009.....with the U.S. market closing down on Friday 14 Aug 2009 and China market also down, is this the start of a Long Awaited Correction?

Below information I extracted from investmentpostcards.com

A summary of the movements of major global stock markets for the past week, as well as various other measurement periods, is given in the table below.

The MSCI World Index (+0.1%) and MSCI Emerging Markets Index (unchanged) marked time last week, but are still showing solid year-to-date gains of +15.6% and +50.4% respectively. As weakness crept in towards the close of the week, the US and a number of other markets snapped a winning streak of four straight weeks. Emerging markets underperformed developed markets for the second week running since the beginning of May, indicating signs of risk appetite abating somewhat.

Click here or on the table below for a larger image.

After surging by 90.7% since the beginning of the year and notching up seven straight weeks of gains, the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index has now declined by 12.2% since its peak of August 4, taking the Index back to its early-July level. On Friday, the Index (3,047) dropped to below its 50-day moving average (3,103), but it is still comfortably trading above its 200-day line (2,420). The Rate-of-Change Indicator (black line in the bottom section of the chart) has broken below the zero line, thereby flashing a sell signal.

Source: StockCharts.com

“… the margin of safety is becoming ever more thin as the enemy of the rational buyer, namely optimism, reaches new heights. … since a self-sustaining economic recovery appears doubtful, I do not believe we have started a new bull market. Rather, it is more than likely that economic growth will disappoint in late 2009/early 2010 as the domestic economy confronts many of the emerging secular challenges.”