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Bull market & bear market

A bull market is a sustained period of rising stock prices and optimism; a bear market is a sustained decline, conventionally a drop of 20% or more from a peak.

A bull market describes a prolonged stretch of rising prices and general optimism, when investors expect gains and are willing to buy. A bear market is the opposite: a sustained decline in which pessimism dominates, conventionally defined as a fall of 20% or more from a recent high in a major index. A milder 10% drop is called a correction.

The terms come from how each animal attacks — a bull thrusts its horns up, a bear swipes its paws down. Bull markets historically last longer than bear markets, and over long periods the US market has trended upward, but bear markets are a recurring, normal part of investing rather than an anomaly.

stocks-llm is a company-research tool, not a market-timing service. It does not predict bull or bear markets. This definition is educational only.

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