What Is a Bull Market?
A bull market is a long period when stock prices keep rising. A common definition is a rise of 20% or more from a recent low.
Bull vs bear market
A bull attacks by thrusting its horns up. A bear swipes its paws down. So a bull market goes up and a bear market goes down. The names are old Wall Street slang.
What drives a bull market
Usually a growing economy, rising company profit and confident buyers. Low interest rates help too, because borrowing is cheap and savings accounts pay less, which pushes money into stocks.
Is a bull market good or bad?
For people who already own stocks, it feels great. But long bull markets can make people careless. Prices can rise faster than profit, and the P/E ratios of many stocks climb. That can set up a harder fall later.
How to act in a bull market
Keep doing the basics. Spread your money with diversification, invest on a schedule, and avoid buying something only because its price went up. Nobody knows when a bull market will end.
See it in real companies
Open a company to see what it sells and how it makes money.