There are two classic market types used to characterize the general direction of the market. Bull markets are when the market is generally rising, typically the result of a strong economy. A bull market is typified by generally rising stock prices, high economic growth, and strong investor confidence in the economy. Bear markets are the opposite. A bear market is typified by falling stock prices, bad economic news, and low investor confidence in the economy.
Bull Market
A bull market is a financial market where prices of instruments (e.g., stocks) are, on average, trending higher. The bull market tends to be associated with rising investor confidence and expectations of further capital gains.A market in which prices are rising. A market participant who believes prices will move higher is called a "bull". A news item is considered bullish if it is expected to result in higher prices.An advancing trend in stock prices that usually occurs for a time period of months or years. Bull markets are generally characterized by high trading volume.
Simply put, bull markets are movements in the stock market in which prices are rising and the consensus is that prices will continue moving upward. During this time, economic production is high, jobs are plentiful and inflation is low. Bear markets are the opposite--stock prices are falling, and the view is that they will continue falling. The economy will slow down, coupled with a rise in unemployment and inflation.
A key to successful investing during a bull market is to take advantage of the rising prices. For most, this means buying securities early, watching them rise in value and then selling them when they reach a high. However, as simple as it sounds, this practice involves timing the market. Since no one knows exactly when the market will begin its climb or reach its peak, virtually no one can time the market perfectly. Investors often attempt to buy securities as they demonstrate a strong and steady rise and sell them as the market begins a strong move downward.
Portfolios with larger percentages of stocks can work well when the market is moving upward. Investors who believe in watching the market will buy and sell accordingly to change their portfolios.Speculators and risk-takers can fare relatively well in bull markets. They believe they can make profits from rising prices, so they buy stocks, options, futures and currencies they believe will gain value. Growth is what most bull investors seek.
Bear Market
The opposite of a bull market is a bear market when prices are falling in a financial market for a prolonged period of time. A bear market tends to be accompanied by widespread pessimism. A bear market is slang for when stock prices have decreased for an extended period of time. If an investor is "bearish" they are referred to as a bear because they believe a particular company, industry, sector, or market in general is going to go down.A bear market is a condition in which securities prices fall and widespread pessimism causes the stock market's downward spiral to be self-sustaining. Investors anticipate losses as pessimism and selling increases.
A bear market occurs when the major indices continue to go lower over time. They will hit new lows. More important, their highs will be lower than before as well. The average length of a bear market is 367 days. The conventional wisdom says it usually lasts 18 months. Bear markets occurred 32 times between 1900 and 2008, with an average duration of 367 days. This is around once every three years.
If there are underlying reasons for prices to rise or fall, bull or bear markets are appropriate. If prices changes steadily enough that people can make a reasonable judgement that they have risen or fallen the appropriate amount, and change their expectations, all is well. But if they rise too fast, and people start buying just because prices are rising, not because they see any changes in fundamentals, you may get a bubble. And conversely, if the fall prompts people into panic selling, you may get a crash. Any you will get a crash when a bubble pops.