This is NOT the beginning of a bear market, far from it. If Trump, NK and China can all just keep their mouth shut, the market would be through the roof right now, finishing where 2017 has left off. The fundamentals are still strong. The market turned losses into gains in just ONE day this Wednesday even amidst a trade war and the market kept the Thursday up momentum until Trump stopped it short with the additional tariff Thursday evening. If Trump hadn't made that useless remark, the market would still be up right now.
I see 2018 as a continuation of the bull year of 2017, maybe at a reduced pace at times. All those added volatility are all Trump and China (so far no NK and Islamist extremists). LOL