Analysts point to new phase of bull market

THE broad Standard & Poor's 500 had its biggest gain of the year last week and almost returned to a record high, but analysts warn that some stocks will take a lot longer to recover from the sell-off in early April.

The bull market has moved into a different phase, according to some strategists. Initial excitement over the recovery from a deep recession has faded, reflected in a fall of some fast-growing company stocks. Some strategists say that we are now entering the later stages of the economic growth cycle, when safer, more defensive stocks such as utilities and old-line pharmaceuticals take the lead.

The "growth" stocks of the Nasdaq Composite - particularly small technology and biotechnology stocks - led the bull market since it began in 2009. At its low of 3,999 early last week, the Nasdaq Composite was down 8.2 per cent from its March peak, almost at the 10 per cent loss level considered a correction. And for those investors and day traders who buy popu…