I just wanted to point out that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dipped below 10,000 for the first time since late October 2004. This puts the Dow just over 30% down from its all-time high of just over 14,000 a year ago this week. What's up with October?

The last time the Dow dropped by this about this same percentage was between early 2000 to late 2002, when it dropped from 11,500 to 7,700ish – about a 33% drop. There was a lot of volatility along the way, with multiple rises and falls of 1,000 points or more. You can see a high-level view of this volatility in the 9-year Google Finance chart below.

It's certainly disappointing that the Dow has fallen to this level (and the S&P and NASDAQ have both taken big hits as well). However, I'm wondering if this is a sign that we may be nearing the end of this horrendous market. According to this article from Kiplinger's last year:

Since 1926, the average bear market -- typically defined as a drop of 20% or more -- has lasted 1.3 years. As measured by Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, stocks have plummeted an average of 33.5% during those bear markets, according to Jim Stack, president of InvesTech Research, in Whitefish, Mont. And that excludes the 86% decline from 1929 to 1932 that ushered in the Great Depression.

We're not quite at the average length and drop yet, but we're close. Which may imply that soon things will start trending up.

Of course, there's always the chance that "this time is different." We might be seeing the birth of The Son of The Great Depression. But chances are, we aren't.

The key thing to keep in mind is: Don't panic. I'm not generally an advocate of dollar-cost averaging, but if you have some extra cash now, it wouldn't hurt to set it aside. You won't be able to call the bottom, but it's clear that at the moment the market is still inclined to decline.

The other piece of good news is that, with today's drop the market has gone parabolic. This usually indicates that a reverse is coming. Again, it's no guarantee, but it's a positive sign.