NEW YORK -- A stock market swoon of nearly 6% in the past two weeks has Wall Street wondering if its recent winning strategy of buying stocks when prices dip is coming to an end.

The buy-the-dips trade has worked particularly well since the beginning of August, when the latest up leg of the bull market began. Prior to the current pullback, the Standard & Poor's 500 index suffered three sharp dips, only to rebound and make new highs.

But after Friday's nearly 3% sell-off, the market's biggest one-day slide since July, there is growing concern that the current weakness could morph into the first official correction -- defined as a drop of 10% or more -- since the bull began in March.

Intensifying the worry is the fact that the market has been unable to climb higher despite the fact that roughly eight of 10 companies in the S&P 500 have posted better-than-expected third-quarter profits. The stock slump also follows last Thursday's government report showing the U.S. economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter, ending four quarters of contraction. It was the clearest evidence to date that the recession is winding down.

Still, investors question if the growth is sustainable, as the bulk of the growth last quarter was generated from government programs such as cash for clunkers and the $8,000 credit to first-time home buyers.

The fear is the economy will relapse and post subpar growth as the government lifeline fades away. "The market, which has priced in lots of good news, is repricing itself for a slower-growth situation," says MF Global Research's Nick Kalivas.

Also injecting gloom: a pair of reports out Friday that suggest that U.S. consumers, which account for about 70% of economic activity, have still not regained their pre-recession vigor. The Labor Department said personal spending fell 0.5% last month. Adding to the negative vibe was an early reading on October consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan, which came in lower than September.

Investors are bracing for two key pieces of data this week that could offer fresh insight into consumers' health and the pace of the recovery. The Federal Reserve meets on interest rates, and investors will be analyzing the Fed's statement to see if it is moving toward raising interest rates, which are around 0%. Low rates are key to a continued recovery, many believe. On Friday, the government issues its October jobs reports. A rebound in jobs is also needed.

"We haven't seen employment gains yet," says Todd Leone, a trader at Cowen. "Hopefully, that will come at some point." (c) Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

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