In the parlance of financial investment, the term *bear’ denotes

In financial investment parlance, a 'bear' is an investor who expects the price of a particular security or the market as a whole to decline [1]. This pessimistic outlook is termed 'bearish'. The name is metaphorically derived from the way a bear attacks by striking its paws downward. A bear market is formally characterized by a sustained period of falling asset prices, typically defined by a drop of 20% or more from recent highs. During such periods, investor confidence is low, and widespread pessimism often leads to selling pressure as investors attempt to limit their losses. Conversely, an investor who expects prices to rise is known as a 'bull' [2]. While bears anticipate capital losses or seek to profit from falling prices through strategies like short selling, bulls remain optimistic about market growth.

Sources

1. [1] https://www.investopedia.com/insights/digging-deeper-bull-and-bear-markets/
2. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_trend