Bear markets by the numbers: Average stock bear market lasts more than a year
October 5 — Are we now officially in a bear market? The answer, maddeningly, is unclear, since only an intra-day basis — but not on a closing basis — has the broad market exceeded the 20% drop that is widely considered the criterion for a major bear market.
But what if we are now in a bear market? How long can we expect it to last? My review of the historical record contains both good and bad news. The good news is that there is no statistical trend in the length of recent bear markets that would lead us to expect this bear market to be abnormally long. Read more.
