Investment Terms
A Dictionary of Retirement

Bear Market
A bear market is a market in which stocks are currently falling in value. It's argued exactly how much a market has to fall in order to be considered a bear market, but 10% is typically seen as a good figure. It got its name because a bear throws its paws down when it attacks.

Bull Market A bull market is a market in which the prices of stocks are rising. This is generally a period of great optimism. Someone who is optimistic about the market is called "bullish". It got its name because when a bull attacks, it throws its horns up in the air.

Dow Jones The oldest and most widely used measures of the overall condition of the stock market (retirement), each of the four averages is price-weighted and includes a few dozen widely held stocks. There are four Dow Jones Averages: Industrial, Transportation, Utilities, and Composite (the other three together).

S&P 500
Standard & Poor's 500. A basket of 500 stocks that are considered to be widely held. The S&P 500 index is weighted by market value, and its performance is thought to be representative of the stock market (retirement) as a whole. The S&P 500 index was created in 1957, although it has been extrapolated backwards to several decades earlier for performance comparison purposes. This index provides a broad snapshot of the overall U.S. equity market ; in fact, over 70% of all U.S. equity is tracked by the S&P 500. The index selects its companies based upon their market size, liquidity, and sector. Most of the companies in the index are solid mid cap or large cap corporations. Like the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 is a market-weighted index. Most experts consider the S&P 500 one of the best benchmarks available to judge overall U.S. market performance.

Stock Exchange
n. In both senses also called stock market (retirement).
A place where stocks, bonds, or other securities are bought and sold.
An association of stockbrokers who meet to buy and sell stocks and bonds according to fixed regulations.