MarketWatch Premium: There’s a strong possibility that the bear market in stocks is over as investors have given up hope

A contrarian case can be made that the stock market rally since the October lows is the beginning of a new bull market.

That’s because the criteria for “capitulation” that I laid out in previous columns have been met.

Capitulation occurs when investors give up because of despair, the last emotional stage of bear market grief. Without it,…