Bull and Bear Markets (Bullish vs. Bearish) Explained in One Minute: From Definition to Examples

If you consume financial media at all, it's pretty much impossible not to notice how one analyst says he's bullish, whereas another claims he's bearish.

But what is the definition of the terms "bullish" and "bearish" anyway? Or what does it mean when someone claims a certain asset is in a bull market or a bear market?

Perhaps the easiest way to explain the difference between being bullish and being bearish or the difference between bull and bear markets is stating that for the most part, you can think of it as the difference between being optimistic and being pessimistic.

The origin(s) of the term are debatable (examples are provided in the video) but the definitions are fairly straightforward, as they revolve around plain old optimism and pessimism.

In other words, you're a bear when you believe the price of an asset will go down and a bull if you're optimistic, it's as simple as that. The video takes things one step further by explaining when we can say an asset is in a bull market as opposed to a bear market.

At the end of the day, it's important for analysts to have terms at their disposal which enable them to accurately describe their way of seeing the market at a certain point in time. "Bull market" and "bear market" certainly fit the description and can be considered the ABC of financial news media. As such, understanding their definitions properly is a must if you're serious about being an informed observer and this video will help you do just that.