Bulls and Bears

Bulls are when buyers are in control driving up the stock market

Bears are when sellers are in control driving down the stock market

Bull Market and Bear Market

Bull market describes a longer term trend of the stock market, when the Bulls are in control over a longer period of time

Bear market are when sellers are in control driving down the stock market

Where did Bulls and Bears get their name from?

The actual origins of these expressions are unclear. Here are two of the most frequent explanations given:
The terms “bear” and “bull” are thought to derive from the way in which each animal attacks its opponents. That is, a bull will thrust its horns up into the air, while a bear will swipe down. These actions were then related metaphorically to the movement of a market: if the trend was up, it was considered a bull market; if the trend was down,  it was a bear market.

Historically, the middlemen of bearskins would sell skins they did not own yet. This was an early form of speculating on the future price of these skins . The trappers would profit from a spread – the difference between the cost price and the selling price. These middlemen became known as “bears”, short for bearskin jobbers.  The term stuck for describing a downturn in the market

On the other hand, because bears and bulls were widely considered to be opposites, due to the bull-and-bear fights, the term bull stands as the opposite of bears.

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