Econintersect: The end of a bear market is not confrimed until new all-time highs are achieved. Thus, the current rally of nearly 100% (or more depending on which index you look at) is not confirmed as part of a secuar bull market until the market highs of 2000 are eclipsed. If that happened then March 9, 2009 would be confirmed as the end of the secular bear market that started in 2000.Erik McCurdy, senior market technician for Prometheus Market Insight, writing at GEI Investing, says that the current bear market is likely to find a bottom in the future rather than the 2009 low currently on the record. He writes:
Secular bear markets that are accompanied by a long-term deleveraging cycle, like the secular decline accompanying the Great Depression during 1930s and 1940s, tend to have a significantly longer duration, so an extended bear is likely this time as well.
Source: GEI Investing
