But most experts agree that if the fall is 20% or more, it’s a bear market. When that happens, people get scared and either stop investing in the market altogether or panic sell and pull all their money out. And so, share prices of dotcom stocks lost over 80 percent of their value. Elsewhere, delistings and bankruptcies contributed to 13-figure losses on investors’ portfolios. When business profits drop, shareholder earnings take a hit, and so do employment opportunities.
Bull Markets vs Bear Markets: The Differences Explained
Because prices are trending upward, bull markets typically reflect an overall sense of optimism and confidence in the stock market. More people tend to invest in the market during bull periods to potentially profit. That increased demand for securities increases their price, which can then spur even more demand as even more people want in, sending stock prices—and gains—higher. Price inflation may be a problem when the economy is booming, although inflation during a bear market can still occur.
This is not unlike those folks who buy up real estate during slumps in the housing market. When looking at the differences between bear markets vs bull markets, a bear market is often defined as a decline of 20% from a previous high. It’s not uncommon for this to happen during or right before recessions or periods of high unemployment. Bull markets, on the other hand, can trigger a sense of euphoria as you see stock prices surge. But rushing to invest in something simply because it seems to be “doing well” is not a thoughtful strategy for wealth building. You may not know the financials of companies you’re buying or you may purchase stock close to its peak.
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The simple moving average formula can be used as support and resistance, and buy and sell signals. Even in the most fx choice broker review favorable climate, sustaining growth indefinitely is impossible. Four figures can produce some great returns if invested in the right places.
A bull market can also refer to a price spike in a specific market. When we’re in a bullish market, yields on securities and dividends will be lower than those of a bear market. We want higher yields and dividends in a bullish market to lure investors in with the promise of higher yields later. The market indicators are very strong in a bullish market and vice versa in a bearish market. It is an indicator measuring the number of stocks increasing versus those falling. You see bull markets and asset bubbles occurring with stocks and other investments such as bonds, commodities, and housing.
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- Investing during a bull run means buying stocks when prices are nearing their highest levels.
- In such times, investors often have faith that the uptrend will continue over the long term.
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- The market is a constant tug-of-war between the bulls and the bears.
History of Bull vs Bear Markets
It depends widely on the situation and what is happening in the economy. The Coronavirus of February 2020 has just started, so we will see the impact moving forward. It can sometimes last for just a few weeks, months, or even years.
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- Conventional wisdom suggests that buying low and selling high is the best way to profit from stocks.
- Here’s a breakdown of what each type of market entails, how bull and bear markets work, and how to invest during both.
- But by the time everyone agrees that point is reached, the bull market may not last too much longer.
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The main thing to remember is that an overall general sense of optimism characterizes a bull market. And it’s this optimism that tends to catalyze greed, resulting in positive growth. The most recent bear market occurred in 2025, following the very short bear market of 2022. As for which investing strategies to employ, different sectors tend to outperform over various periods in a bull market. Early on, cyclical sectors like financial stocks and industrial stocks tend to outperform as they are most sensitive to interest rates and economic growth.
However, if you stay invested through those peaks and valleys, history has shown that you can benefit from significant upside over the long run. In a bear market, however, the chance of losses is greater because prices are continually losing value and the end is often not in sight. Even if you do decide to invest with the hope of an upturn, you are likely to take a loss before any turnaround occurs. Thus, most of the profitability can be found in short selling or safer investments, such as fixed-income securities. In a bullish market, we see much liquidity flowing into the market.
So, in that sense, markets can charge higher, wildly and with great power, just like a bull. But declining markets can seem like a bear ransacking a town — their destruction makes people lose confidence. Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads. There isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, but some analysts describe a bear market as a decline of 20% or more off recent highs in the market across a broad range of asset classes.
Stock market experts consider falls of 20% or more over two months or more to be a bear market. They consider falls of 10% or less to be a market correction. They usually use the S&P 500 as a guide to determine whether the overall market is bullish or bearish. A bear market is when the stock market has lost over 20 percent over at least three months.
Planning and investments
Simply put, bull markets are characterized by a strong, aggressive upward move over time. Long-term investors see market dips as a unique opportunity to get high-quality stocks at inexpensive prices and can reduce their average cost basis by purchasing shares at lower prices. It’s impossible to know exactly when a bull market will start, but one way for investors to prepare for the next one is to keep buying high-quality stocks, even when they are falling. Bear markets tend to occur before an economic downturn and may signal a recession. It’s important to treat day trading stocks, options, futures, and swing trading like you would with getting a professional degree, a new trade, or starting any new career.
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