Bull vs Bear Market
You might have heard people talking about “being in the longest bull market in history.”
And if you’re new to trading, all this lingo can be confusing.
Let me make this really easy for you.
In the next few minutes, you will learn what a Bull Market and what a Bear Market is. And I will show you a very easy way to remember this forever.
So What Does It Mean?
When people talk about bull or bear market, they talk about the direction of a market or of a stock.
- “Being bullish” means that people believe that a stock or the market is moving higher.
- And “being bearish” means that people believe that a stock is going lower.
In the beginning, I was really confused about this.
For me, it was important to find a way to make it easy for me to memorize.
Here’s An Easy Way To Use These Terms
Bull vs Bear Market
I used a very simple analogy to memorize when to use the word “bull” and when to talk about a “bear” market.
Think about it this way:
How does a bull attack?
A bull uses its horns, charges forward and when it’s ready to attack, the bull moves its horns UP. Think about how the bull attacks a matador in a Spanish Bullfight: The bull tries to pick up the matador and throws him through the air.
On the other hand, how does a bear attack?
When a bear attacks, it stands up tall on only two legs, and then the bear uses its claws and makes a move from the top down. A bear moves this claws DOWNWARDS when it attacks.
Easy enough, right?
Just remember how bulls and bear attack, and you know what term to use for what type of market:
- A Bull Market is a market that moves UP
- A Bear Market is a market that moves DOWN.
How Do You Determine a Bull vs Bear Market?
Everybody has a different way to determine the direction of the market.
I personally like to use technical indicators.
I’m using Relative Strength Index (RSI), Stochastics, and the Moving Average Convergence and Divergence (MACD) to determine whether a stock is more likely to go up, down, or sideways.
If you would like to see how exactly I do this, just go to www.mytradingroutine.com
That’s a website that I set up for you, and on this website, you will find a 35-minute video that shows you exactly how I use these indicators to find the best stocks to trade.
The Most Common Used Definition Of a Bull Market vs Bear Market
When you hear the “talking heads” on the news channels talk about a bulls market or a bear market, here’s how THEY define it:
Learn To Trade Stocks & Options In 15 Minutes A Day
They define a Bear Market if the market falls 20% from the most recent high.
On the other hand, here’s how a Bull Market is defined:
If prices are rising at least 20% from a most recent low, it means that we are now in a bull market again.
Short Summary
Now you know how a bull market vs bear market is defined:
- Bull Market means that the market is going up – like a bull attacking the matador.
- And Bear Market means that the market is going down – like a bear attack.
Now you know the lingo and know what a bull and bear market is.
Trading Futures, options on futures and retail off-exchange foreign currency transactions involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge, and financial resources. You may lose all or more of your initial investment. The lower the day trade margin, the higher the leverage and riskier the trade. Leverage can work for you as well as against you; it magnifies gains as well as losses. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD: Yes, the US economy is resilient – No, that won’t save the US Dollar Premium
Some impressive US data should have resulted in a much stronger USD. Well, it didn’t happen. The EUR/USD pair closed a third consecutive week little changed, a handful of pips above the 1.1800 mark.
Gold: Metals remain vulnerable to broad market mood Premium
Gold (XAU/USD) started the week on a bullish note and climbed above $5,000 before declining sharply and erasing its weekly gains on Thursday, only to recover heading into the weekend.
GBP/USD: Pound Sterling remains below 1.3700 ahead of UK inflation test Premium
The Pound Sterling (GBP) failed to resist at higher levels against the US Dollar (USD), but buyers held their ground amid a US data-busy blockbuster week.
Bitcoin: BTC bears aren’t done yet
Bitcoin (BTC) price slips below $67,000 at the time of writing on Friday, remaining under pressure and extending losses of nearly 5% so far this week.
US Dollar: Big in Japan Premium
The US Dollar (USD) resumed its yearly downtrend this week, slipping back to two-week troughs just to bounce back a tad in the second half of the week.
RECOMMENDED LESSONS
Making money in forex is easy if you know how the bankers trade!
I’m often mystified in my educational forex articles why so many traders struggle to make consistent money out of forex trading. The answer has more to do with what they don’t know than what they do know. After working in investment banks for 20 years many of which were as a Chief trader its second knowledge how to extract cash out of the market.
5 Forex News Events You Need To Know
In the fast moving world of currency markets where huge moves can seemingly come from nowhere, it is extremely important for new traders to learn about the various economic indicators and forex news events and releases that shape the markets. Indeed, quickly getting a handle on which data to look out for, what it means, and how to trade it can see new traders quickly become far more profitable and sets up the road to long term success.
Top 10 Chart Patterns Every Trader Should Know
Chart patterns are one of the most effective trading tools for a trader. They are pure price-action, and form on the basis of underlying buying and selling pressure. Chart patterns have a proven track-record, and traders use them to identify continuation or reversal signals, to open positions and identify price targets.
7 Ways to Avoid Forex Scams
The forex industry is recently seeing more and more scams. Here are 7 ways to avoid losing your money in such scams: Forex scams are becoming frequent. Michael Greenberg reports on luxurious expenses, including a submarine bought from the money taken from forex traders. Here’s another report of a forex fraud. So, how can we avoid falling in such forex scams?
What Are the 10 Fatal Mistakes Traders Make
Trading is exciting. Trading is hard. Trading is extremely hard. Some say that it takes more than 10,000 hours to master. Others believe that trading is the way to quick riches. They might be both wrong. What is important to know that no matter how experienced you are, mistakes will be part of the trading process.
The challenge: Timing the market and trader psychology
Successful trading often comes down to timing – entering and exiting trades at the right moments. Yet timing the market is notoriously difficult, largely because human psychology can derail even the best plans. Two powerful emotions in particular – fear and greed – tend to drive trading decisions off course.