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Bear market
A longer period of falling prices, usually more than 20 % from the high.
A bear market is a lasting downturn of the overall market. A rule of thumb is a decline of more than 20 % from the last high. Bear markets often last months, sometimes years.
In such phases individual dips recover less easily because the environment pulls down. The opposite is a bull market, a phase of rising prices. The image: the bear swipes down with its paw, the bull thrusts up with its horns.