A hidden bear market in Dow threatens all stocks

Published Tue, Mar 17 201511:30 AM EDTUpdated Tue, Mar 17 201511:39 AM EDT

Evelyn Cheng @in/evelyn-cheng-53b23624 @chengevelyn

Pedestrians walk past IBM's building in New York.

Craig Warga | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has a hidden bear market going.

A third of the members of the blue chip barometer have hit new 52-week lows this year. By no coincidence, the Dow briefly turned negative for 2015 Tuesday.

"If you had a healthy market, all 30 stocks should be at highs," said Brad Lamensdorf, co-portfolio manager of the Ranger Equity Bear Fund (HDGE), which bets against stocks.