Bull Markets Roll, Bear Markets Spike

There is an old saying that “bull markets roll, but bear markets spike.”

In a bull market, most investors are long-only. They are happy, The bull market thus “rolls” along, as more bullish investment capital flows into the market and positions are added to.

In a bear market the case is different. Very few people are ready to go short. So many people are angry. The result is a spiky profile where declines are interrupted by surprisingly vicious rallies of short duration.

These mini-rallies are made more vicious by the forced activity of “short covering,” in which bearish traders get “squeezed” out of their positions by the fighting spirit of the bulls.