
What Is a Dead Cat Bounce?
- Gap Down. For a dead cat bounce to occur, a stock must gap lower (dip at the open) by a significant percentage.
- Sustained Decline. The price must continue to decline for at least five minutes after the opening bell—preferably longer.
- The Dead Cat Bounce. After the sustained decline, the namesake bounce starts to occur. ...
- Decline Resumes. ...
What is a dead cat bounce in trading?
Apr 30, 2021 · A dead cat bounce is a temporary, short-lived recovery of asset prices from a prolonged decline or a bear market that is followed by the continuation of the downtrend. Frequently, downtrends are...
Is the incipient stock market recovery a dead cat bounce?
Mar 23, 2022 · A dead cat bounce is a market trend where a stock experiences a sharp decline, a temporary recovery, and ultimately, a continuation of its downward trend. A dead cat bounce can be caused by a variety of factors, including traders exiting their short positions or traders simply believing the stock has reached its low.
How accurate is the Dead Cat Bounce?
Apr 07, 2022 · A dead cat bounce is an investing term for the temporary rise in the price of a stock or other asset during a long period of decline. …
When is a rally considered a dead cat bounce?
Mar 11, 2022 · Simply put, a dead cat bounce is a short-lived bounce in asset prices after a massive fall. Dead cat bounces are common in bear markets. Dead cat bounces are temporary rallies in asset prices...

Is a dead cat bounce bullish?
How do you trade a dead cat bounce?
What happens after dead cat bounce?
What is a dead cat stock?
How long can a dead cat bounce last?
Do stocks always bounce back?
Why is it called a dead cat bounce?
What is opposite of dead cat bounce?
Is Crypto in a dead cat bounce?
When should you use a dead cat?
Learn about a dead cat bounce in investing, its origin, and a few patterns to look out for, along with an example of a dead cat bounce
Adam has been writing for The Motley Fool since 2012 covering consumer goods and technology companies. He consumes copious cups of coffee, and he loves alliteration. He spends about as much time thinking about Facebook and Twitter's businesses as he does using their products. For some lighthearted stock commentary and occasional St.
What does a dead cat bounce indicate?
The goal of trying to identify a dead cat bounce is to determine whether a stock or other asset that gains value after a prolonged decline is going to keep increasing in price. If a trader has sold a particular stock short and views a price increase as a dead cat bounce, they may decide to maintain the short position.
Example of a dead cat bounce
Consider the stock of the major financial institution Wells Fargo ( NYSE:WFC), which traded at about $53 per share at the start of 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, fears of loan defaults and plunging consumer interest rates caused the bank stock to lose significant value. By the beginning of April, the stock price had declined to about $26.
Limitations in identifying a dead cat bounce
As previously noted, the biggest challenge of trying to identify a dead cat bounce is that it cannot be reliably done until it has already occurred.
What is a dead cat bounce?
The dead cat bounce describes a financial phenomenon whereby a stock in a steady decline suddenly, and without a logical cause, gains value temporarily before continuing its downward trend. The term originates from the saying that even a dead cat will bounce if dropped from high enough.
Can a dead cat bounce be determined?
The dead cat bounce can only be fully accurately determined with concrete data in hindsight. Both falsely identifying a stock price trough (i.e., falling victim to a dead cat bounce) and falsely identifying a true price trough as a dead cat bounce will result in negative financial consequences.
How long does it take for a dead cat to bounce?
An occurrence of a dead cat bounce (i.e., a sudden and false increase in stock prices) can go anywhere from a few days to several months.
How long does a dead cat bounce last?
An occurrence of a dead cat bounce (i.e., a sudden and false increase in stock prices) can go anywhere from a few days to several months. The unpredictability of a dead cat bounce furthers the difficulty of correctly identifying a dead cat bounce.
What was the financial crisis of 2008?
During the 2008 Global Financial Crisis#N#2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 refers to the massive financial crisis the world faced from 2008 to 2009. The financial crisis took its toll on individuals and institutions around the globe, with millions of American being deeply impacted. Financial institutions started to sink, many were absorbed by larger entities, and the US Government was forced to offer bailouts#N#, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped to a low at the beginning of 2009 (indicated by the blue circle). It was an optimal time to buy assets included in the Dow Jones as the market index continued to rise from that point on, providing investors an opportunity to sell high in the future.
When did the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop?
, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped to a low at the beginning of 2009 (indicated by the blue circle).
What is a dead cat bounce?
A dead cat bounce (DCB) occurs when the prices of tradable assets increase temporarily after a period of decline and then fall again terribly to continue the downtrend. Many investors confuse this rise with an indication of recovery, leading them to invest in the asset only to incur huge losses after the prices drop further.
What happens when the bulls dominate the stock market?
When bulls dominate the stock market, they make it economically sound. However, when the bears become dominant, it leads to the stock value downtrend, resulting in its steady decline. The bears are the pessimist investors who are suspicious about the market.
What happens when a stock keeps declining?
The fluctuation observed in the trade market is quite a common phenomenon. But when a stock keeps declining continuously, leading to a steep low slope in the chart, certain investors become active. These investors are bear investors, short term investors, short sellers and even some value investors.
What is price pattern?
The price pattern indicated on an index is a reflection of the current status of the market. The ups and downs in the chart keep investors and money managers up to date. It also helps them make crucial financial decisions ahead. A bearish.
What is a dead cat bounce in stock markets?
A dead cat bounce in stock market is a popular Wall Street term to refer to the brief, temporary recovery of the prices of a declining stock. Anything that falls from a great height bounces. Our Wall Street saying indicates even a very soft thing like a dead cat will bounce, however little, if it falls from a great height.
What are the reasons of a dead cat bounce in the market?
There are several factors that cause dead cat bounce in stocks. Almost every bear market on this planet goes through a time when even the most ardent bears reconsider their situations. With a market consistently finishing down over a month or two, most bears clear short positions.
How to recognize a dead cat bounce pattern in stock market?
If there is a chart or graph available for the NAV or price of the stock (s) concerned, carefully examine it. Check out whether there is any somewhat steady decline pattern for at least a quarter.
How to distinguish between dead cat bounce and stock market reversal?
Well, to be honest, there is no simple answer for this. At times, it is very difficult to tell whether it is a dead cat bounce or an actual market reversal. Patterns become clear only after the period is over, but then it is often too late to make any financial decisions.

True Price Trough vs. Dead Cat Bounce
An Example During The 2008 Financial Crisis
- The True Low of the Dow Jones Index
During the 2008 Global Financial Crisis2008-2009 Global Financial CrisisThe Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 refers to the massive financial crisis the world faced from 2008 to 2009. The financial crisis took its toll on individuals, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped to a … - The Dead Cat Bounce for the Dow Jones Index in 2008
There was another increase (indicated by the orange circle) in the DJIADow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), also referred to as "Dow Jones” or "the Dow", is one of the most widely-recognized stock market indices.mid-2008 that was not reflectiv…
Caveats of The Dead Cat Bounce
- 1. Difficult to indicate
The most prominent issue with the dead cat bounce is that it cannot be identified with certainty until it is analyzed in hindsight. Although many financial analystsFinancial Analysts - What Do They Dotry to use statistical tools to forecast such an occurrence and to prevent negative conse… - 2. Length of dead cat bounces
Dead cat bounces can vary greatly in length of time. An occurrence of a dead cat bounce (i.e., a sudden and false increase in stock prices) can go anywhere from a few days to several months. The unpredictability of a dead cat bounce furthers the difficulty of correctly identifying a dead ca…
Erroneous Identification of The Dead Cat Bounce
- In the first section, we demonstrated that investors buying stocks on the assumption that a stock price’s reached its lowest could lead to a dead cat bounce. On the other hand, erroneously identifying a dead cat bounce (when it is actually a stock price trough) leads to missed buying opportunities, and thus also carries negative consequences for in...
Related Readings
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