If this feels like the start of a market pullback, that's because it is

In case anyone was wondering what the next market correction would look like, “This is it,” according to Paul Schatz, president of Heritage Capital LLC. Mr. Schatz, a tactical adviser and money manager, said stock market volatility over the past few days is indicative of the pullback he has been calling for and believes is necessary. “As you know, we have been looking for a short-term pullback for several weeks,” he said. “I do not believe the bull market is over and I don't think this decline will become anything serious, at least not yet.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which hit several record highs over the past few weeks, is now on its third consecutive day of swings of 100 points or more. The blue chip average is currently hovering around 14,580, representing a gain of more than 11% from the start of the year. Mr. Schatz said he believes the current volatility is simply a rough patch in a run toward 15,000 for the Dow. “This should be your typical, healthy and routine 4% to 8% pullback,” he said. “I continue to view 15,000 as the ceiling and 13,700 as the floor for a while.” Joseph Witthohn, vice president of product development and ETF strategies at Emerald Asset Management, believes that investors are clinging to any reasonable excuse to justify the recent volatility. “The markets are down sharply today and blame is being laid on disappointing results from Bank of America and Yahoo, but is this really the reason or just an excuse,” he said. “It might just be that investors are taking a backseat and waiting for more definitive signs of economic improvement before returning to their bullish ways, even among signs that the U.S. economy is slowly improving.” If recent market activity is saying anything to investors it is that rebounds can be fast and furious, making them easy to miss. “Some people seem to be waiting for a bell to ring that gives the signal that all is clear, but many of those who are waiting to hear it missed the run-up in recent years,” Mr. Witthohn said. “I only hope they don't strain too hard this time to try to hear its friendly clang, because the bell does not exist.”