Think of the stock market as an animal kingdom and its players as the residents of the jungle. If one is interested in the happenings of the stock market, one must have scrolled through news headlines repeatedly referring to the familiar names “bulls and bears”. But how many of us know that the animal kingdom does not stop there? So, presenting to you the jungle book of the stock market.
The bull
Needless to say, bulls are the players that generate excitement within the stock market. A bullish trend indicates optimism that shoots up the prices of the indices. Bullish trends last for months or even years, at times.
The bear
Bears are a paradigm of negative stock market sentiment. When the index falls 20% or more, it is officially tagged for the status of a bear market. Bears of the market make money by short-selling the investments. The early mention of bulls and bears was made in the book ‘Every Man his own broker’. Since then, bulls and bears have been not just mere mammals but adjectives indicating stock market sentiments. One of the longest bear markets in history was the great depression of 1929, which lasted for ten long years.
The rabbit
Rabbits are synonymous with intraday traders looking to earn a quick buck. In most cases, they do not even prefer to hold a stock for more than a day. Rabbits usually refrain from going long-term and invest in prices rather than the company fundamentals.
The turtle
On the contrary to swift rabbits, turtles are patient investors that prefer long-term investments. They go along with fundamental investing and like to stay committed to the companies they invest in. Reminds us of the classic Rabbit-Turtle rivalry, doesn’t it?
The pig
A pig is a money-grubbing investor who always wants more. Pigs usually go for unconventional investing methods and play in the volatilities. They either win big or lose it all, like the farmer with a golden goose.
The chicken
A chicken is an anxious investor who stays on pins and needles after putting their money in the market. Their impulsive decisions of panic selling stocks the moment it goes down, only add-up to more market volatilities.
The sheep
Sheep investors are known to go with the crowd. They tend to follow the investment advice of so-called stock market gurus, and barely apply their knowledge before investing. While the investment turns out to be dumb luck bagging profits, one must always research before investing to avoid being a victim of pump and dump.
The shark
Sharks are the puppet masters of stock prices. They attract retail investors by falsely manipulating a stock price. When the price inflates at an unbelievable price, they dump their stocks, causing a heavy loss to the retail investors.
Every player has their own significance and contributes to the dominion of the stock market empire. Nuances like these make the uncertainties of the market quite predictable. How many of these stock market beasts were you aware of? Enlighten us in the comments below. Happy Investing.