What is a Bull Market?

Answer:
Wall Street has two iconic images used to describe

the current market conditions: a bull and a bear. What exactly is a bull market? A bull market represents rising securities prices or an expectation of near term price increases. Optimism, expectations, and investor confidence are all hallmarks of a bull market. On the other hand, bear markets represent falling securities prices and a feeling of gloom regarding the market’s impending performance.

Why use a bull to signify rising prices and a bear to represent falling prices? After all, both animals are aggressive beasts. The attack method of each of the animals translates into their respective images. The bull thrusts his horns up in the air (rising prices) while a bear swipes downward with his paws (falling prices).

Bull markets can last over a period of months or years but they don’t last forever. During a bull market, investors are optimistic that trends will continue their upward rise. In fact, this optimism alone can cause a bull market. Bull markets often occur during booms or when the markets are recovering from recessions.


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