Stock market dummy here?

Question

what exactly is the bull market and bear market?

what exactly is the Dow and Nasdaq? Why does it seem that those two things ( D and N, whatever they are) measure how the market is doing that day? Am I even right about that?

Thank you

Answer 1

Bear and Bull just are references to whether the market in general is going up or down.

The Dow and NASDAQ are market indexes.  They are really just an average of many companies.  It's just a way to give am indication if the "market" is in an uptrend or downtrend.  The Dow could be going down, however, and Company A going up.

Answer 2

A bull market tends to be associated with increasing investor confidence, motivating investors to buy in anticipation of further capital gains.  A bear market is described as being accompanied by widespread pessimism. Investors anticipating further losses are motivated to sell, with negative sentiment feeding on itself in a vicious circle. The most famous bear market in history was after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and lasted from 1930 to 1932, marking the start of the Great Depression.

The DJIA  is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (although it is neither industrial nor an average). It is comprised of what can be considered an elite group of stocks that are tracked. It consists of 30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the United States.(Primarily Blue Chips - long term less risky older companies)The Nasdaq is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States. It lists more than 3200 companies and has more trading volume per day than any other stock exchange in the world.  The performance of both are indicators of how well (broadveiw) the stock market is performing.

Answer 3

A bull market is when the market prices are on the rise and there is optimism. A bear market is the opposite of a bull market and there is pessimism.

The dow and nasdaq are simply market indexes which reflect the movements in prices of some of the biggest companies. You are doing fine and not a dummy, cheers!

Answer 4

Easy way to remember what Bear and bull mean.  

When a Bull attacks it lowers its horns and then thrusts upwards (upward movement of the over-all market)

When a Bear attacks it stands on its legs and swipes downwards at you (downward market)  

Just a little tidbit.