Bull n bear in stock market?
Key Takeaways
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.
"At the end of 2022, nearly every expert at the major banks predicted a recession and/or bear market in 2023. And yet, despite some volatility and selling over the summer, markets logged a largely positive year."
First, understand that the only sure way to “win” a stock market game is to win educationally, by learning about economics, markets, and personal financial skills that will help you manage your money better!
To remember which is which, remember that bulls are known for being aggressive and charging ahead, (like the prices in a rising market), while bears are known for hibernating (likened to how investors might scale back investments during market downturns).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab, which also hit a record closing high on Friday, had already confirmed on Dec 13, 2023 that it had been in a bull market since Sept. 30, 2022.
And if you had invested $1,000 in Netflix a decade ago, it would have ballooned by more than 654% to $7,543 as of Oct.
Stocks bounced back decisively in 2023, with the S&P 500 gaining more than 20% through July before retreating between August and October. In November, markets recovered, and stocks closed out the year with a sharp rally.
It can be nerve-wracking to watch your portfolio consistently drop during bear market periods. After all, nobody likes losing money; that goes against the whole purpose of investing. However, pulling your money out of the stock market during down periods can often do more harm than good in the long term.
While many analysts think the market could well climb in 2024, they're not fully discounting the possibility of a downturn either. As with the start of 2023, market watchers remain divided on the state of the market in the year ahead, as so many variables work to confound predictions.
Can you become a millionaire off the stock market?
Reaching millionaire status isn't easy, but it is achievable -- especially with the right strategy. Investing in the stock market is one of the most effective ways to build wealth, and with enough time and consistency, you could potentially earn well over $1 million.
Financial Advisors Don't Try to Beat the Market. Beating the market isn't a financial advisor's job. Instead, financial advisors serve more as a coach and counselors, helping you set financial goals, talking you through the tough times, and persuading you not to make emotion-based decisions.
- Get your financial house in order. You should only be investing when a few very important boxes can be checked off: ...
- Don't "be" the market. There are huge benefits to diversification. ...
- Don't pay high fees. The fees you pay for your investments seem so tiny. ...
- Invest for the long run.
But you can maximise your chances of a profit in a bear market by following bearish-friendly strategies. These include diversifying your holdings, focusing on the long-term, taking a short-selling position, trading or investing in 'safe haven' assets and buying at the bottom.
One way to capitalize on the rising prices of a bull market is to buy stocks early on and sell them before they reach their peak. In a bear market, where there is more loss potential, investing in equities should be done with great prudence, since you are likely to incur a loss — at least initially.
The longest bear market lingered for three years, from 1946 to 1949. Taking the past 12 bear markets into consideration, the average length of a bear market is about 14 months. How bad has the average bear been? The shallowest bear market loss took place in 1990, when the S&P 500 lost around 20%.
Main Street Research's James Demmert agreed with similar language, stating, "Tech should continue to be in a very vibrant bull market in 2024, but it is one that will broaden out across the sector, and not just be confined to the top names."
With a few exceptions, the members of the 2024 Barron's Roundtable expect the stock market to disappoint, with the index delivering returns of minus-5% to plus-5% for the full year. No, they don't see a ruinous recession, and yes, they expect the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at some point during the year.
This skepticism is just one reason we think the bull market will march on in 2024, delivering a good-to-great year for global stocks.
Have a look at the above chart and you'll see that if you put $1,000 into Disney stock 20 years ago, today it would be worth $4,527.
What if I invested $1000 in S&P 500 10 years ago?
A $1000 investment made in November 2013 would be worth $5,574.88, or a gain of 457.49%, as of November 16, 2023, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 150.41% and gold's return of 46.17% over the same time frame.
“If you had invested $10,000 in Netflix stock on August 1, 2003, 20 years later on August 1, 2023, you would have $4,386,200,” said Nancy D. Butler, a certified financial planner for more than 35 years and the owner of Above All Else, Success in Life and Business.
1 Rule For When To Sell Stocks. To make money in stocks, you must protect the money you already have. That brings us to the cardinal rule of selling. Always sell a stock it if falls 7%-8% below what you paid for it.
Investors have plenty to cheer as 2023 draws to a close, with the S&P 500 ending the year with a gain of more than 24% and the Dow finishing near a record high.
| Stock Name | Market Cap (in Cr) | Share Price |
|---|---|---|
| Polycab India | ₹78,598 | ₹5,360.15 |
| Deepak Nitrite | ₹30,200 | ₹2,235.5 |
| Bajaj Finance | ₹4,48,258 | ₹7,349.8 |
| Adani Green Energy | ₹1,62,600 | ₹1,348.5 |
