Some gold analysts see the glint of a new bull market in bullion

Even though the price of gold has been stagnant, geopoliticians are having a field day. Geopoliticians are people who look at the globe as one enormous chessboard. One observer of this ''game,'' Walter Peters, head of the Unicorn Group, which manages over $1 billion in pension and offshore funds, finds all kinds of events to be concerned about.

''The violence in Southeast Asia is heating up and could escalate into a war in Thailand that we don't want to be in,'' he says. At the same time, he continues, ''the Central American scenario'' is bubbling. And the Middle East - never an oasis for the war-weary - seems to him to be at another crisis spot. Even United States allies, he says, are leaning toward protectionism. With all these hot spots, is Mr. Peters packing it all in and heading for Australia?

Not yet, he says. ''In many of the areas, there is no immediate solution. . . . We are addressing the problems on a piecemeal basis - not on a comprehensive basis.''

This money manager has become warier of the stock market. ''Solid equity investments are getting more and more difficult to find,'' he says. ''The market is looking 'toppy' in here.'' He says his strategy is to lighten up on stock holdings in anticipation of a moderate downturn in prices. ''This is the downturn everyone has been predicting for so long,'' he says.