What are bull markets and bear markets and how are they different?

Bull and bear markets signify relatively long-term movements of significant proportion. Hence, these runs can be gauged only when the market has been moving in its current direction (by about 20% of its value) for a sustained period. One does not consider small, short-term movements that last for a few days, as they may only indicate corrections or short-lived movements. An upward movement of 15-20% or more is classified as a bull market whereas a correction of 15-20% or more is a bear market. Then there are secular bull markets and secular bear markets. Between 2003 and 2008, India saw a secular bull market when the Sensex went from 3400 levels to 21,000 levels. Similarly, the period from 2008 until 2009 was a long bear market where the markets corrected by nearly 60% from their peak prices.