A bull market is an prolonged interval of rising inventory costs and investor optimism. It’s not fully clear the place the names “bull market” or “bear market” come from, however one frequent clarification is that it stems from the arrogance a bull initiatives because it expenses ahead with its horns thrust upward, whereas a bear tends to slash its paws in a downward movement.
We’ll cowl what constitutes a bull market, the distinction between a bull market and a bear market, some historic examples, and methods for investing in a bull market.
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There’s no precise definition of a bull market. However typically, a bull market is a interval when inventory costs, as measured by a serious index just like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Common, enhance by a minimum of 20% over current lows in a brief time period.
Bull markets are normally outlined by excessive investor sentiment. You’ll usually see a spike in shopping for exercise as extra traders are drawn to the market. The elevated demand for shares drives costs greater.
Rates of interest are sometimes low throughout a bull market, which makes it cheaper for companies to borrow cash and increase. Excessive confidence coupled with low borrowing prices additionally interprets to an increase in preliminary public choices (IPOs) when shares are bullish.
Bull markets are related to different optimistic financial indicators, like robust company earnings, excessive shopper confidence, gross home product (GDP) progress, and low unemployment.
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A bull market may be tough to acknowledge, significantly initially and finish. The late Sir John Templeton, an acclaimed worth investor, as soon as mentioned, “Bull markets are born on pessimism, develop on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria.”
Basically, a bull market begins when shares are recovering from a bear market. Some traders see a shopping for alternative, spurring a gradual uptick in demand and costs, however many stay pessimistic within the early phases. Many traders stay hesitant till after costs have moved up considerably.
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Financial indicators, like GDP progress and unemployment numbers, could also be weak at this level if the economic system is recovering from a recession or a serious downturn. As an illustration, a bull market started in March 2009 following the 2008 monetary disaster, however unemployment didn’t peak till seven months later.
After all, bull markets don’t final without end. Pinpointing when costs have peaked is one thing you’ll be able to solely do looking back. One cause is that short-term inventory market fluctuations are regular and don’t essentially replicate a long-term development. So it’s not possible to know whether or not shares have hit what is going to grow to be a short-lived tough patch or if it’s the top of a bull market.
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Each bull markets and bear markets are regular elements of inventory market cycles. Whereas a bull market is a protracted enhance in inventory costs, a bear market is commonly outlined as a drop of 20% or extra in a serious inventory index.
Bear markets are sometimes related to a slowing economic system or the concern that robust occasions are forward, although the inventory market and the economic system don’t at all times transfer in lockstep. Bear markets are likely to happen when shopper confidence is falling, GDP progress is slowing, and unemployment charges and inflation are rising.
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The excellent news is that bull markets are usually considerably longer than bear markets. Since 1946, the S&P 500 has skilled 11 bear markets, with a median size of 16 months, based on analysis by Fisher Investments. The common bull market spanned greater than 5 years in that interval.
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The S&P 500 hit all-time low within the wake of the 2008 monetary disaster on March 9, 2009, at 672. The index went on a 131-month bull run — one of many longest bull markets in historical past — that didn’t finish till Feb. 19, 2020, when it hit 3,393 earlier than shares started crashing resulting from panic over the unfold of COVID-19. The S&P 500 soared by over 400% throughout that stretch of practically 11 years.
Observe that the economic system remained in recession for a number of months after the bull market started, and restoration was weak at first, with GDP rising at solely 2% yearly for the primary 4 years after that.
Just a few different examples of bull markets embody:
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Put up-World Warfare II: Between June 1949 and August 1956, the S&P 500 grew by 266% because the federal authorities balanced its finances and shopper spending skyrocketed.
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The Reagan years: The S&P 500 elevated by 229% between August 1982 and October 1987, which is commonly attributed to President Reagan’s tax insurance policies and deregulation efforts. The bull market ended abruptly with the Black Monday inventory market crash on Oct. 19, 1987.
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Nineteen Nineties dot-com period: The S&P 500 had positive factors of 417% between the top of the Chilly Warfare in 1991 and March 2000, when the dot-com bubble burst.
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U.S. shares have been typically thought of to be in a bull market as of September 2025. Over practically three years, from Oct. 13, 2022, to September 29, 2025, the S&P 500 is up about 90%.
That’s to not say the market hasn’t skilled turbulence throughout that point. Between February and April, shares fell about 20%, largely resulting from worries over President Trump’s tariffs. Nonetheless, shares shortly recovered, reaching new highs once more in June, and have continued to development upward since then.
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Nobody desires to promote low, so a bull market is a perfect time to take a look at your short- and medium-term wants and shift a few of your belongings to money or low-risk investments, if needed. For instance, if you happen to’re planning to retire within the subsequent couple of years, you may take into account promoting some shares. Doing so can provide you a bigger money cushion, which is efficacious if a bear market strikes whilst you’re dwelling off your retirement account.
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You probably have a goal asset allocation — say, 75% shares and 25% bonds — it’s possible you’ll discover that your portfolio’s inventory allocation drifts considerably above your goal. A portfolio that when had 75% shares might now have 85% or 90% shares resulting from rising costs, a phenomenon referred to as asset drift. Remember to rebalance your portfolio periodically to take care of your targets.
Greenback-cost averaging is once you make investments a certain quantity at recurring intervals, no matter what’s occurring within the inventory market. Although you’ll pay extra to put money into a bull market, you’ll additionally lock in some decrease costs when the market is down. Many traders discover that this technique takes a number of the emotion out of investing.
Attempt to not fear about timing the market or lacking out on a bull market. The S&P 500 has grown by a median of 10% yearly, which interprets to critical progress over the long run, irrespective of the way you time your funding.
Tim Manni edited this text.
