Wednesday marks the seven-year anniversary of the start of the current bull market for U.S. stocks, one that has shaped up to be more notable for its duration than its intensity. The current bull run of 84 months is the third-longest on record, with the average lasting slightly less than 59 months, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Though also above average, the gains are somewhat less impressive, with the S&P 500 stock index up 193%, fifth among 13 bull markets since the Great Depression. The average bull market climb is 167%. Of the S&P's 10 major sectors, the consumer discretionary one grew the most during the bull, surging about 378%. Energy has lagged the most, growing only 43.1%. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) is the best performer of S&P components that have been in the index during the bull run, up more than 3,080%. On the downside, Southwestern Energy (SWN), off about 74 percent, is the worst performing component. This bull market will be 2,557 days on Wednesday. It would have to last 2,608 days to make it the second-longest and 3,454 days to be the longest ever. The two longest bull markets ran from June 14, 1949 to August 2, 1956 and October 11, 1990 to March 24, 2000. The bull started from a low point after the Great Recession and the financial crisis pushed stocks down 56.3% from the S&P's October 2007 high of 1,565.15 to 676.53. The S&P 500 reached its most recent high of 2,130.82 on May 21, 2015, when it was up 217 percent from the 2009 low. To maintain bull market status, the index would have to surpass that high and keep climbing. If, instead, it goes down 20 percent from that high, that date will be seen as the official end of the bull market. That's far from certain. Stocks have struggled early in the year, with the S&P off 3.2% for 2016 and 3.9% below the May high. With relatively weak earnings and some concerns about global growth, it's not clear stocks can resume their upward march. The Dow Jones industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite, also bottomed on March 9, 2009. They grew about 159% and 266%, respectively, since then. $INX, SandP-500* / 20000