Stock Market Today

The precise origin of the phrases “bull market” and “bear market” is obscure. The most common etymology points to London bearskin “jobbers” (brokers), who would sell bearskins before the bears had actually been caught in contradiction of the proverb ne vendez pas la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué (“don’t sell the bearskin before you’ve killed the bear”)—an admonition against over-optimism. By the time of the South Sea Bubble of 1721, the bear was also associated with short selling; jobbers would sell bearskins they did not own in anticipation of falling prices, which would enable them to buy them later for an additional profit.

Another plausible origin is from the word “bulla” which means bill, or contract. When a market is rising, holders of contracts for future delivery of a commodity see the value of their contract increase. In a falling market, the counterparties–the “bearers” of the commmodity to be delivered, win because they have locked in a price higher than the present for future deivery.