Being Bearish

Table of Contents

Being Bearish
What is being bearish?
Understanding the term bearish
Bearish behaviour
Bearish characteristics
An example of being bearish
Frequently Asked Questions

Being Bearish

Bearish traders aim to profit from a market’s fall because they predict it will soon collapse in value. They are now competing with bulls, who might purchase a market in the hope of making a profit. A “bear” is an investor who is pessimistic about the market and believes that prices will fall.

What is being bearish?

A market, financial instrument or asset is said to be bearish if you think it will move negatively. In finance, a “bearish trend” is a downward trend in the stock prices of a sector or a general decline in broad market indexes.

To be bearish in the stock market means to believe that stock prices will fall in the future. This can be based on several factors, such as economic indicators or company-specific news. Bearish investors may take several different actions, such as selling stocks, shorting stocks, or buying put options.

Understanding the term bearish

A bearish investor expects a widespread decline in stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, or alternate investments like collectables. This investor expects a big and continuous decline.

The bears and their upbeat counterparts, the bulls, battle it out for dominance of the stock market, which is always in flux. On average, the US stock market has grown by around 10% annually, including dividends, during the last hundred years or so.

A person may have bearish viewpoints on a particular business or various assets. A trader with negative thoughts can decide whether or not to act on them. If the trader takes action, they can go short or sell the shares they already possess. Since market attitude is a significant driver of how the financial markets move, traders must be able to spot bearish trends.

Traders who are bearish on an asset predict a decline in its price. These investors may choose to act on this conviction. They can sell their shares or trade a stock short if they decide to take action. In other words, they borrow shares from their broker, sell them on the open market, and then plan to purchase them back at a lower price when the market recovers.

Bearish behaviour

When there is a lot of bearish behaviour in the stock market, some investors get concerned that this could signal a market crash. However, it is crucial to remember that the stock market is notoriously volatile, and there are always ups and downs. While a market crash is always a possibility, it is no certainty. So, the best action is to keep a close eye on the market and see how it develops.

Fear is the main emotion felt by investors who anticipate a bear market. That particular worry is that wealth will be destroyed by an approaching downturn.

Due to their gloomy outlook on the market, bears employ several approaches that, in contrast to conventional investment strategies, benefit when the market declines and incur losses when it rises. Short selling is the most popular of these strategies.

The buy-low, sell-high philosophy of conventional investing is the opposite of this technique. Short sellers, who think the price will fall, purchase cheap and sell higher, but in reverse, selling first and purchasing later.

Bearish characteristics

Bearish characteristics include:

a lengthy period of falling stock prices (often by at least 20% and lasting at least two months)

A meagre or deteriorating economy
Reduced investor confidence
Decreasing investor optimism
Increased unemployment
A widespread belief that conditions will remain gloomy for a while

Being Bearish

An example of being bearish

A good example of a bear in the stock market is someone who sold his stocks in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the market to crash. This person would have bought stocks in March or April when the market was at its lowest point.

One of the most famous examples includes The “great bear of Wall Street” in the 1920s, a famous stockbroker named Jesse Livermore. His most well-known investment was a short position he took during the 1929 stock market crisis, which brought him 100 million US$.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the causes of being bearish?

There are several potential causes of bearishness in the stock market. One is that stock prices are inherently volatile and can go down and up. Another potential cause is that investors may be concerned about the economy’s overall health and may choose to sell off stocks. Additionally, political or geopolitical instability can also lead to bearishness in the stock market, as investors may be concerned about the potential for instability and uncertainty.

What is a bear market?

When the price of stocks on the market falls steadily over time, it is said to be in a bear market. Typically, a bear market is deemed to exist when an investment’s price declines by at least 20% from its peak.

Why are they called bull and bear?

It is believed that the words “bear” and “bull” came from how each animal attacked its prey. More elaborately, a bull will raise its horns in the air, but a bear will lower them. The behaviour of a market was then symbolically compared to these actions.

How long do bear markets last?

Bear markets can have disastrous effects on the country’s wealth, although they typically only last a short while. In reality, a bear market only lasts 9.6 months on average. The stock market decline often ends in less than a year.

US bear markets have typically lasted 289 days which is around 9.50 months. In comparison, bull markets typically continue for two years and eight months.

How to invest in a bearish market?

When bearish, there are a few things to consider before investing in the stock market. First, it is important to understand the current market conditions clearly. It is also crucial to have a clear investment strategy. Additionally, it is necessary to diversify your portfolio and to have patience.

Don’t forget to focus on the following points: