why is it called a bull market when prices go up 
the actual origin of the term bull market is subject to debate the terms bear for down markets and bull for up markets are thought by some to derive from the way in which each animal attacks its opponents a bull thrusts its horns up into the air while a bear swipes down others point to shakespeare s plays which make reference to battles involving bulls and bears in macbeth the ill fated titular character says his enemies have tethered him to a stake but bear like i must fight the course in much ado about nothing the bull is a savage but noble beast several other explanations also exist were we in a bull market in 2023 the s p 500 entered a bull market on june 8 2023 after rising 20 from its october 2022 lows the index had been in a bear market since june 2022 the dow jones industrial average and nasdaq had been in bull markets since nov 30 2022 and may 8 2023 respectively 