Global Equities - Half the world is in a bull market

This would have to be my chart of the week. The red line shows the proportion of countries (70 in this study) that are currently in a bull market: currently just over 50%. The chart appeared in the latest edition of the Weekly Macro Themes (VIEW LINK) . So how do you define a bull market? The simple answer is a market that's going up... but there is a rule of thumb that a market that has gone up at least 20% is in a bull market. I've gone with this definition for simplicity, for the chart I used a 52-week window (so to register, a stock market would need to be up at least 20% from its lowest point over the last 52 weeks). What's interesting about this chart is that it is showing many familiar signs that often occur at the start of a bull market - just look at the 2016 bottom vs 2003, 2009, and 2011. Indeed, it looks like an entirely new bull market in global equities is now under way.