My recent discussion on why March 2020 was a "correction" and not a "bear market" sparked much debate over the somewhat arbitrary 20% rule.

"Price is nothing more than a reflection of the 'psychology' of market participants. A potential mistake in evaluating 'bull' or 'bear' markets is using a '20% advance or decline' to distinguish between them."

Wall Street loves to label stuff.  When markets are rising, it's a "bull market." Conversely, falling prices are a "bear market." 

Interestingly, while there are some "rules of thumb" for falling prices such as:

A "correction" gets defined as a decline of more than 10% in the market.

A "bear market" is a decline of more than 20%.

There are no such definitions for rising prices. Instead, rising prices are always "bullish."

It's all a bit arbitrary and rather pointless.

The Reason We Invest

It is essential to understand what a "bull" or "bear" market is as investors.

A "bull market" is when prices are generally rising over an extended period.

A "bear market" is when prices are generally falling over an extended period.

Here is another significant definition for you.