What is a bull market?

We explain what a 'bull market' means

A bull market is generally defined by a 20 per cent rise in the stock market that takes place after a 20 per cent drop in the market.

This is not a precise definition and ‘bull market’ is often used to describe a situation in which investors are upbeat, putting a lot of money into stocks and think that the economy is going to perform well for the foreseeable future.

Though it’s usually used in the context of the stock market, ‘bull market’ can be used to describe almost any area of investment. You might have a ‘real estate bull market’ or a ‘bull market in the fine wine industry.’

The term ‘bullish’ is also derived from ‘bull market.’ To be ‘bullish’ about a particular stock, industry or market just means that you are confident that it’s going to perform well and increase in value.

More terms

Nominal amount

The face value of a gilt. It represents the amount that will be repaid to the holder at maturity and is also used to calculate the dividend or coupon payment.
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Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)

A statement that summarises firm's expenses, costs, and revenues incurred during a time period. AKA income statement.
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Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)

An investment trust specialised in investing in commercial property such as parking garages or GP offices.
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Collective investment scheme

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Arithmetic Mean

The sum of a set of numbers added together and then divided by the total amount of numbers in that set.
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Conventional gilts

Gilts where the dividends and principal repayments are fixed in nominal terms. This is as opposed to an index-linked gilt where the dividends and principal repayments are related to movements in the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
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Hedge Fund

Investment funds that are often associated with riskier and shorter-term trading strategies.
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Dividends

Find out what dividends are and how they can contribute to the growth of your investment portfolio.
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Equity ETF

An exchange-traded fund that is comprised of a set of stocks.
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