bear
noun [ C ]
FINANCE, STOCK MARKET uk/beər/ ussomeone who expects prices on a financial market to go down and sells their shares, etc. hoping to buy them back in the future at a lower price:
The brokerage, which has been a persistent bear in recent months, switched its recommendation from sell to hold.
The bears are driven by bad economic news from Japan, such as July's 2.4% monthly slump in industrial production.
Compare
bull
See also
bear market