Still, many analysts who surveyed the sinkage regarded it with a certain evangelical belief that the world was experiencing an overdue correction.

Indeed, many analysts believe the market may be in the midst of a long overdue correction - a pause or slump in buying pressure after a sharp run-up in prices.

A few analysts say they see some signs of alarm among investors, although others regard the recent plunge as nothing more than an overdue - and temporary - correction.

Or, after a five-year boom, is the market only undergoing an overdue correction of its own?

I think that it's a badly overdue correction of a terrible IMBALANCE.

The drop in many world markets was an overdue correction, with many markets overvalued, analysts said.

In what traders talked of as a piece of an overdue correction, the interest rates on long-term Treasury bonds moved higher, settling above Friday's record low rates.

The BVL index slid slowly down in April to the 970's, which experts consider a long overdue technical correction.

If a large number of them were Asian-born and fairly young, that arguably represents an overdue correction of a focus that has favored composers from the West.

"I still think the sentiment is bullish, but I think we may be seeing a little long overdue correction in bonds," Mr. Gamba added.