The history of bull and bear\n\n The terms bear  and bull  have been used for many years in the financial and trading markets, and are thought to originally stem from the way in which each animal attacks its opponents. A bull, when on the attack, thrusts its horns up into the air, while a bear will swipe downward.

A bull market is when stock prices are on the rise and economically sound, while a bear market is when prices are in decline. The origin of these expressions is unclear, but one reason could be that bulls attack by bringing their horns upward, while bears attack by swiping their paws downward.

There are, however, two investment phrases that may be more familiar: bull and bear markets. While both are used to describe how markets are performing, they are entirely different animals when it comes to the impact they can have on your portfolio and the investment decisions you make.

A bear market is a 20% downturn in stock market indexes from recent highs. A bull market occurs when stock market indexes are rising, eventually hitting new highs. Historically, bull markets tend to last longer than bear markets. Bear and bull markets can affect investor confidence and behavior.