Bull markets are usually discussed in connection with broad stock indexes, but the term can also be applied to bonds, commodities, real estate, or other assets when prices rise persistently.
Key Takeaways
- Sustained rise: A bull market is broader and longer-lasting than a brief rally.
- 20% is a convention, not a law: Market commentators commonly use the threshold, but definitions can vary.
- Sentiment often improves: Rising prices can reinforce optimism and risk taking.
- Pullbacks still happen: A bull market can include sharp temporary declines.
How a Bull Market Is Identified
In common market usage, a bull market is a period of rising stock prices and optimistic sentiment, generally using a rise of 20% or more in a broad market index over at least a two-month period as the benchmark.
Market dates are often clearer in hindsight. Analysts can disagree about the exact beginning or end because indexes can rally, fall back, or reach new highs at different times.
Bull Market vs. Market Rally
Market rallies are meaningful upward price moves that can occur inside either a bull or bear market. By contrast, a bull market implies a broader, more sustained advance rather than a short rebound.
What Can Drive a Bull Market?
Economic growth, improving corporate earnings, falling interest rates, easier financial conditions, technological innovation, expanding valuations, and rising investor confidence can all support higher prices.
No single factor causes every bull market. Some begin during weak economic conditions because markets anticipate improvement before economic data turns positive.
Investor Behavior During Bull Markets
Persistent gains can make risk feel lower than it really is. Investors may increase leverage, chase recent winners, reduce diversification, or assume that high returns will continue indefinitely.
Bull Market Pullbacks and Corrections
Rising markets rarely move in a straight line. Temporary declines of several percent can occur because of economic news, policy changes, earnings disappointments, or profit taking.
A correction does not automatically end a bull market. The broader trend and subsequent market behavior matter more than one short-term move.
Bull Markets and Long-Term Investing
Trying to wait for a perfectly safe moment can cause investors to miss substantial portions of market advances. At the same time, buying simply because prices are rising can encourage performance chasing.
A disciplined plan based on asset allocation, diversification, and rebalancing avoids making the portfolio dependent on correctly identifying market-cycle labels in real time.
What the 20% Rule Does Not Tell You
The 20% convention does not show whether stocks are overvalued, whether the economy is healthy, or how long the advance will last. It is a descriptive threshold rather than a forecasting tool.
Different indexes can also enter or leave bull-market territory at different dates, so the market being discussed should always be specified.