Bull, Bear, Pig?

One of the things most associated with the stock market is the bull. In fact, there is a statue of a bull somewhere on Wall Street. Often you may hear the terms bull and bear tossed around, but what does it really mean?

Bull – A bullish sentiment, trend, or market symbolizes an upward movement. A bullish market means that stock prices are going higher. A bullish trader feels positive about stocks getting higher. A bullish sentiment is usually related to a trader finding some sort of pattern or data that is common in most stocks that end up going higher.

Bear – To make things real simple, a bear is the complete opposite of a bull. A bearish market means that stock prices are going lower. A bearish trader feels stock prices are going to get cheaper. A bullish sentiment is correlated with data or patterns that are usually apparent in other stocks that headed lower.

Pig – While not an official term,  being called a pig in the stock market is not a good thing. It usually means that you have no clue what you are doing, and just blindly make and execute trades.

Bull vs Bear

While there may be no real connection between bears feelings and bullish sentiments in the market. A common rule of thumb is that once one side has completely abandoned the market then a reversal is more than likely.

For example, if stock prices are getting higher and higher and we are experiencing a bull market, then once all the sellers (aka bears) are gone, then prices will probably head lower. Obviously once too much of something happens, then eventually it won’t  work anymore. Think of the real estate market: overdeveloping equals a change in market and demand.