The stock market moves up and down every day, but when movements continue downwards for a period of time the market is referred to as a ‘bear market’. Upward moving markets are ‘bull markets’. If a particular stock is doing well, it is said to be bullish. If it is losing value it is bearish.
Bull and Bear are the terms to describe the general conditions of the stock market. These do not refer to short term fluctuations – a bear market is commonly understood as one where prices of key stocks have fallen in price by 20% or more over a period of at least 2 months. Even during a bear market, however, prices may increase temporarily. Bull markets are the opposite of bear markets – they are indicated by a rise in prices of key stocks over a certain period of time.
