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Bear / Bearish

A trader or outlook that expects prices to fall. "Bearish" means pessimistic about upside.

A bear is someone who thinks prices are going down. Bears swing their paws downward when they attack โ€” that's the origin of the term. Bears SELL (or avoid buying). "Bearish on GBP/JPY" means expecting it to fall. A "bear market" is a sustained downtrend with lower highs and lower lows. A "bearish candle" is a red candle that closed below its open. "Bearish divergence" is when price makes a higher high but an indicator like RSI makes a lower high โ€” a warning that upside is losing steam. Bears can make money faster than bulls because fear moves markets quicker than greed. But bearish positions also have a floor (price can only go to zero) while bulls theoretically have unlimited upside. In practice, neither side has an edge โ€” only the trend does.
Real trade example

Being bearish the Japanese yen (long USD/JPY / EUR/JPY) from 2022 to 2024 earned 4,000+ pips as the BoJ refused to raise rates while the rest of the world hiked aggressively.

Frequently asked about bear / bearish

What is a bear / bearish in trading?+
A trader or outlook that expects prices to fall. "Bearish" means pessimistic about upside.
When will I see bear / bearish used in real trading?+
After any major risk-off event: wars, financial crises, central bank hikes. Bears come out of the woodwork.
What is the most common mistake traders make with bear / bearish?+
Being permanently bearish. Chronic bears miss 80% of the big trades because they're always waiting for the crash.
What do experienced traders know about bear / bearish that beginners don't?+
Bearish moves often take half the time of bullish moves. If your short isn't working within a day or two, reassess โ€” bears don't grind, they fall.

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