Bull market and bear market

A bull market is a sustained period of rising prices, typically defined as a gain of twenty percent or more from a recent low. A bear market is the opposite, a sustained decline, typically defined as a drop of twenty percent or more from a recent high.

These labels describe the overall market or a specific index, not any single stock, and are usually only confirmed in hindsight once the twenty percent threshold has clearly been crossed. Bull and bear markets can last anywhere from months to years, and neither one moves in a straight line the whole way through.