the bulls and bears
On Wall St. there are are two main types of animals that drive the market. The two primary animals that most people refer to when talking about the direction of the stock market are bulls and bears. If you pursue a further interest into stocks, you will undoubtedly hear these terms again.
The bull
The bull market is when everything seems to be doing well. In a bull market the economy is doing well, and stocks are starting to perform well. During this time period, stocks are easier to pick from, as almost all of them are outperforming expectations and are doing well. However, you must always be wary that a bull market cannot last forever. In fact, sometimes a bull market can last too long and stocks can become overvalued and crash. Another thing to know is when a person says they are "bullish" on a stock, they mean that they think the outlook for the stock is good moving forward.
the bear
The bear market is the polar opposite of a bull market. The economy is in bad shape, stock prices are dropping, and recession may be looming. One thing that some investors do to make money during this time is short selling, something that will be talked about in the investment strategy section. Another strategy is to simply not enter the stock market and wait things out, though this can be difficult if you can't sell your shares before a major decline. The bear market however, can be a time of opportunity, as many blue chip stocks get dragged down with the market and become cheap, which can be a great time to buy something if you plan to hold it for the long haul.