HFT2,
I joined this forum just to clear things for you.
I know you had been bullish and you are a patriot and there is nothing wrong with that, but don't meddle with the sentiments of the people because it is not doing you good. I'm posting this for your request for a rebuttal so please don't be rude on me even when I try to debunk your case.
1) You said that there is a positive GDP for the past quarters so there is no recesssion. My country has been showing a GDP of 6% every quarter of 07 and still the country feels no growth. you know why? Because GDP is not a good indicator of the economy. It measures the means of income of everybody and most of the time OUTLIERS exist. A country could have a positive GDP just because one person or company has doubled his income while many are still jobless. Try reading THE CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HITMAN so you would understand more.
2) Economies are not just simply made by few people. It is the Society within the Economy dictates where the economy is going. Sentiments brings drastic downfalls or graces to economy. If the people want to spend and spend, the economy grows. If the people becomes afraid because they are already losing money, recession occurs. Refer to KEYNES' study for you to understand it better.
I hope you are now clarifies why the market is going down and next time before you look at economic data, go deeper on what it is trying to say