Two of the US’ three major indexes hit record-highs over consecutive days of trading, fueling optimism that the US is in a bull market

A “bull market” is an unofficial designation for when stock prices witness sustained growth over a prolonged period of time

It is variously defined as when stocks rise 20%+ from a recent low or when stock indexes reach new highs

The term is used to distinguish between real stock market growth and short, temporary spikes

By the first definition – 20%+ growth from a recent low – the US entered a bull market in June 2023

Yet amid high interest rates and fears of a recession, many economists warned that what appeared to be a bull market could actually be a temporary spike driven by excess optimism

Yet fueled by optimism of a “soft landing” – inflation coming down without triggering a recession – the stock market continued to rise throughout 2023

The Nasdaq ultimately finished the year up 43.4%, the S&P 500 up 24.2%, and the Dow 13.7%

The Dow also reached a record-high in December, further fueling speculation of a bull market

Yet the market had a slow start in 2024, dampened by a series of economic reports and data suggesting that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may lower interest rates later than expected

Since last week, though, optimism that the Fed could lower interest rates in March has caused a stock surge that resulted in the S&P closing on Friday at a record-high

That momentum continued into Monday, when both the S&P and Dow reached record-highs

That solidified to many Wall Street analysts that the US market is now solidly in a bull market

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