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.

In the California bull and bear fights, the grizzly nearly always defeated the bull.

Investing in bull and bear markets\n\n Having a higher allocation of stocks is optimal in a bull market, where there's more potential for higher returns. 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.