It's hard to know whether to be an ASX bull or bear in the market right now. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (INDEXASX: XJO) has had a wild start to the year. The benchmark Aussie index hit a new record high in mid-February and things were looking up. The index breached the 7,000 point mark and looked to be heading higher.
Then we saw the coronavirus pandemic change everything. Countries locked their borders and economies went into hibernation. Record government stimulus and a favourable monetary policy were designed to prop up economic growth.
There was the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia which sent ASX energy shares tumbling. We saw an ASX bear market in February as the market was briefly in freefall.
However, ASX 200 shares have been rebounding strongly in April and May. In fact, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is up more than 30% since 23 March.
So, with all that's going on in the share market, should you be an ASX bull or bear right now?
Should you be an ASX market bull or bear today?
There's a saying from Jim Cramer that goes, "bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered".
What it really means is that investors who take a strong view on either direction of the market, generally, do well, while indecisive investors lose out. If you're an ASX bull, you could have netted a tidy return in the current market recovery. Likewise, a bear market investor could have made money in the February and March downturn.
But the "pigs", being those investors trying to time the market and unsure of their positions, are the ones that lost out. I think the easiest way to avoid that is to remember that you're investing for the long-term.
Whether a bull or bear market, what happens today or tomorrow won't affect your portfolio in 30 year's time. I'm an ASX bull on a long-term timeframe which makes buying ASX shares easier.
In fact, I just view a downturn as a fire sale of my top ASX shares.
