Following the announcement of sweeping tariffs on all countries by Donald Trump, April 4, 2025 became the day with the third-highest point losses for the Dow Jones Industrial Average in history. Worse than the loss experienced on that day were only the losses that occurred following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted significant points losses due to the global impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. With stocks falling sharply, the Dow recorded its worst single-day points drop ever, plunging 2,997 points – nearly 13 percent – on March 16, 2020.

The statistic shows the worst days of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index from 1897 to 2024. The worst day in the history of the index was ****************, when the index value decreased by ***** percent. The largest single day loss in points was on ***********.

April 9, 2025, saw the largest one-day gain in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), follwing Trump's announcement of 90-day delay in the introduction of tariffs imposed on imports from all countries. The second-largest one-day gain occurred on March 24, 2020, with the index increasing 2,112.98 points. This occurred approximately two weeks after the largest one-day point loss occurred on March 9, 2020, which was triggered by the growing panic about the coronavirus outbreak worldwide. Index fluctuations The DJIA is an index of 30 large companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It is one of the numbers that financial analysts watch closely, using it as a bellwether for the United States economy. Seeing when these large gains occur, as well as the largest one-day point losses, gives insight to why these fluctuations may occur. The gains in 2009 are likely adjustments after major losses during the Financial Crisis, but those in 2018 are probably signs of high market volatility. Other leading financial indicators While the DJIA is closely watched, it only gives insight on the performance of thirty leading U.S. companies. An index like the S&P 500, tracking 500 companies, can give a more comprehensive overview of the United States economy. Even so, this only reflects investment. Other parts of the economy, such as consumer spending or unemployment rate are not well reflected in stock market indices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index dropped around ***** points in the four weeks from February 12 to March 11, 2020, but has since recovered and peaked at ********* points as of November 24, 2024. In February 2020 - just prior to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the DJIA index stood at a little over ****** points. U.S. markets suffer as virus spreads The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a turbulent period for stock markets – the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also recorded dramatic drops. At the start of February, some analysts remained optimistic that the outbreak would ease. However, the increased spread of the virus started to hit investor confidence, prompting a record plunge in the stock markets. The Dow dropped by more than ***** points in the week from February 21 to February 28, which was a fall of **** percent – its worst percentage loss in a week since October 2008. Stock markets offer valuable economic insights The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index that monitors the share prices of the 30 largest companies in the United States. By studying the performance of the listed companies, analysts can gauge the strength of the domestic economy. If investors are confident in a company’s future, they will buy its stocks. The uncertainty of the coronavirus sparked fears of an economic crisis, and many traders decided that investment during the pandemic was too risky.

The value of the DJIA index amounted to ********* at the end of March 2025, up from ********* at the end of March 2020. Global panic about the coronavirus epidemic caused the drop in March 2020, which was the worst drop since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Dow Jones Industrial Average index – additional information The Dow Jones Industrial Average index is a price-weighted average of 30 of the largest American publicly traded companies on New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, and includes companies like Goldman Sachs, IBM and Walt Disney. This index is considered to be a barometer of the state of the American economy. DJIA index was created in 1986 by Charles Dow. Along with the NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500 indices, it is amongst the most well-known and used stock indexes in the world. The year that the 2018 financial crisis unfolded was one of the worst years of the Dow. It was also in 2008 that some of the largest ever recorded losses of the Dow Jones Index based on single-day points were registered. On September 29, 2008, for instance, the Dow had a loss of ****** points, one of the largest single-day losses of all times. The best years in the history of the index still are 1915, when the index value increased by ***** percent in one year, and 1933, year when the index registered a growth of ***** percent.

View data of the S&P 500, an index of the stocks of 500 leading companies in the US economy, which provides a gauge of the U.S. equity market.

Between March 2020 and August 2024, four of the biggest one-day losses on the Nasdaq Composite Index occurred in the first half of 2020. The worst day was March 16, 2020, when the index fell by 12.32 percent. The 25 worst days in terms of losses were spread across 2020 and 2022. This index includes the Big Five tech giants - Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Meta, and Microsoft - as well as many other technology-focused companies.

China's main stock market index, the SHANGHAI, rose to 3448 points on July 1, 2025, gaining 0.11% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 2.57% and is up 15.06% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from China. China Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Canada's main stock market index, the TSX, rose to 26746 points on June 30, 2025, gaining 0.20% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 1.35% and is up 21.83% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Canada. Canada Stock Market Index (TSX) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.

As of August 2020, the S&P 500 index had lost 34 percent of its value due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Great Crash, which began with Black Tuesday, remains the most significant loss in value in its history. That market crash lasted for 300 months and wiped 86 percent off the index value.

South Korea's main stock market index, the KOSPI, rose to 3072 points on June 30, 2025, gaining 0.52% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 13.81% and is up 9.54% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from South Korea. South Korea Stock Market - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.

Australia's main stock market index, the ASX200, fell to 8514 points on June 27, 2025, losing 0.43% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 1.40% and is up 9.61% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Australia. Australia Stock Market Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.

In 2025, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly ** percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was China, followed by the European Union as a whole. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.

The Long Depression was, by a large margin, the longest-lasting recession in U.S. history. It began in the U.S. with the Panic of 1873, and lasted for over five years. This depression was the largest in a series of recessions at the turn of the 20th century, which proved to be a period of overall stagnation as the U.S. financial markets failed to keep pace with industrialization and changes in monetary policy. Great Depression The Great Depression, however, is widely considered to have been the most severe recession in U.S. history. Following the Wall Street Crash in 1929, the country's economy collapsed, wages fell and a quarter of the workforce was unemployed. It would take almost four years for recovery to begin. Additionally, U.S. expansion and integration in international markets allowed the depression to become a global event, which became a major catalyst in the build up to the Second World War. Decreasing severity When comparing recessions before and after the Great Depression, they have generally become shorter and less frequent over time. Only three recessions in the latter period have lasted more than one year. Additionally, while there were 12 recessions between 1880 and 1920, there were only six recessions between 1980 and 2020. The most severe recession in recent years was the financial crisis of 2007 (known as the Great Recession), where irresponsible lending policies and lack of government regulation allowed for a property bubble to develop and become detached from the economy over time, this eventually became untenable and the bubble burst. Although the causes of both the Great Depression and Great Recession were similar in many aspects, economists have been able to use historical evidence to try and predict, prevent, or limit the impact of future recessions.

The annual returns of the Nasdaq 100 Index from 1986 to 2024. fluctuated significantly throughout the period considered. The Nasdaq 100 index saw its lowest performance in 2008, with a return rate of ****** percent, while the largest returns were registered in 1999, at ****** percent. As of June 11, 2024, the rate of return of Nasdaq 100 Index stood at ** percent. The Nasdaq 100 is a stock market index comprised of the 100 largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. How has the Nasdaq 100 evolved over years? The Nasdaq 100, which was previously heavily influenced by tech companies during the dot-com boom, has undergone significant diversification. Today, it represents a broader range of high-growth, non-financial companies across sectors like consumer services and healthcare, reflecting the evolving landscape of the global economy. The annual development of the Nasdaq 100 recently has generally been positive, except for 2022, when the NASDAQ experienced a decline due to worries about escalating inflation, interest rates, and regulatory challenges. What are the leading companies on Nasdaq 100? In August 2023, ***** was the largest company on the Nasdaq 100, with a market capitalization of **** trillion euros. Also, ****************************************** were among the five leading companies included in the index. Market capitalization is one of the most common ways of measuring how big a company is in the financial markets. It is calculated by multiplying the total number of outstanding shares by the current market price.

As of January 29, 2025, the FTSE index stood at 8,557.81 points - well above its average value of around 7,500 points in the past few years.On the 12th of March 2020, amid the escalating crisis surrounding the coronavirus and fears of a global recession, the FTSE 100 suffered the second largest one day crash in its history and the biggest since the 1987 market crash. On the 23rd of March, the FTSE index saw its lowest value this year to date at 4,993.89 but has since began a tentative recovery. With the continuation of the pandemic, the FTSE 100 index was making a tentative recovery between late March 2020 and early June 2020. Since then the FSTE 100 index had plateaued towards the end of July, before starting a tentative upward trend in November. FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, otherwise known as the FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 largest companies trading on the London Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization. At the end of March 2024, the largest company trading on the LSE was Shell. The largest ever initial public offering (IPO) on the LSE was Glencore International plc. European stock exchanges While nearly every country in Europe has a stock exchange, only five are considered major, and have a market capital of over one trillion U.S dollars. European stock exchanges make up two of the top ten major stock markets in the world. Europe’s biggest stock exchange is the Euronext which combines seven markets based in Belgium, France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal.

Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank on Wall Street, declared bankruptcy on the 15th of September 2008, becoming the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The investment house, which was founded in the mid-19th century, had become heavily involved in the U.S. housing bubble in the early 2000s, with its large holdings of toxic mortgage-backed securities (MBS) ultimately causing the bank's downfall. The bank had expanded rapidly following the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, which meant that investment banks could also engage in commercial banking activities. Lehman vertically integrated their mortgage business, buying smaller commercial enterprises that originated housing loans, which allowed the bank to expand its MBS holdings. The downfall of Lehman and the crash of '08 As the U.S. housing market began to slow down in 2006, the default rate on housing loans began to spike, triggering losses for Lehman from their MBS portfolio. Lehman's main competitor in mortgage financing, Bear Stearns, was bought by J.P. Morgan Chase in order to prevent bankruptcy in March 2008, leading investors and lenders to become increasingly concerned about the bank's financial health. As the bank relied on short-term funding on money markets in order to meet its obligations, the news of its huge losses in the third-quarter of 2008 further prevented it from funding itself on financial markets. By September, it was clear that without external assistance, the bank would fail. As its losses from credit default swaps mounted due to the deepening crash in the housing market, Lehman was forced to declare bankruptcy on September 15, as no buyer could be found to save the bank. The collapse of Lehman triggered panic in global financial markets, forcing the U.S. government to step in and bail-out the insurance giant AIG the next day on September 16. The effects of this financial crisis hit the non-financial economy hard, causing a global recession in 2009.

Between March 4 and March 11, 2020, the S&P 500 index declined by ** percent, descending into a bear market. On March 12, 2020, the S&P 500 plunged *** percent, its steepest one-day fall since 1987. The index began to recover at the start of April and reached a peak in December 2021. As of December 29, 2024, the value of the S&P 500 stood at ******** points. Coronavirus sparks stock market chaos Stock markets plunged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with investors fearing its spread would destroy economic growth. Buoyed by figures that suggested cases were leveling off in China, investors were initially optimistic about the virus being contained. However, confidence in the market started to subside as the number of cases increased worldwide. Investors were deterred from buying stocks, and this was reflected in the markets – the values of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite also dived during the height of the crisis. What is a bear market? A bear market occurs when the value of a stock market suffers a prolonged decline of more than 20 percent over a period of at least 2 months. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe concern and sent stock markets on a steep downward spiral. The S&P 500 achieved a record closing high of ***** on February 19, 2020. However, just over 3 weeks later, the market closed on *****, which represented a decline of around ** percent in only 16 sessions.

As of June 17, 2024, the most shorted stock was for, the American holographic technology services provider, MicroCloud Hologram Inc., with 66.64 percent of their total float having been shorted. This is a change from mid-January 2021, when video game retailed GameStop had an incredible 121.07 percent of their available shares in a short position. In effect this means that investors had 'borrowed' more shares (with a future promise to return them) than the total number of shares available for public trading. Owing to this behavior of professional investors, retail investors enacted a campaign to drive up the stock price of Gamestop, leading to losses of billions when investors had to repurchase the stock they had borrowed. At this time, a similar – but less effective – social media campaign was also carried out for the stock price of cinema operator AMC, and the price of silver. What is short selling? Short selling is essentially where an investor bets on a share price falling by: borrowing a number of shares selling these shares while the price is still high; purchasing the same number again once the price falls; then returning the borrowed shares at a profit. Of course, a profit will only be made if the share price does fall; should the share price rise the investor will then need to purchase the shares back at a higher price, and thus incur a loss. Short selling can lead to some very large profits in a short amount of time, with Tesla stock generating over one billion dollars in short sell profits during the first week of March 2020 alone, owing to the financial crash caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, owing to the short-term, opportunistic nature of short selling, these returns look less impressive when considered as net profits from short sell positions over the full year. The risks of short selling Short selling carries greater risks than traditional investments, and for this reason financial advisors often recommend against this strategy for ‘retail’ (i.e. non-professional) investors. The reason for this is that losses from short selling are potentially uncapped, whereas losses from traditional investments are limited to the initial cost. For example, if someone purchases 100 dollars of shares, the maximum they can lose is the 100 dollars the spent on those shares. However, say someone borrows 100 dollars of shares instead, betting on the price falling. If these shares are then sold for 100 dollars but the price subsequently rises, the losses could greatly exceed the initial investment should the price rise to, say, 500 dollars. The risks of short selling can be seen by looking again at Tesla, with the company causing the greatest losses over 2020 from short selling at over 40 billion U.S. dollars.

On October 29, 1929, the U.S. experienced the most devastating stock market crash in it's history. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 set in motion the Great Depression, which lasted for twelve years and affected virtually all industrialized countries. In the United States, GDP fell to it's lowest recorded level of just 57 billion U.S dollars in 1933, before rising again shortly before the Second World War. After the war, GDP fluctuated, but it increased gradually until the Great Recession in 2008. Real GDP Real GDP allows us to compare GDP over time, by adjusting all figures for inflation. In this case, all numbers have been adjusted to the value of the US dollar in FY2012. While GDP rose every year between 1946 and 2008, when this is adjusted for inflation it can see that the real GDP dropped at least once in every decade except the 1960s and 2010s. The Great Recession Apart from the Great Depression, and immediately after WWII, there have been two times where both GDP and real GDP dropped together. The first was during the Great Recession, which lasted from December 2007 until June 2009 in the US, although its impact was felt for years after this. After the collapse of the financial sector in the US, the government famously bailed out some of the country's largest banking and lending institutions. Since recovery began in late 2009, US GDP has grown year-on-year, and reached 21.4 trillion dollars in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic and the associated lockdowns then saw GDP fall again, for the first time in a decade. As economic recovery from the pandemic has been compounded by supply chain issues, inflation, and rising global geopolitical instability, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the U.S. economy.