On Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc. (an investment bank) declared bankruptcy. On Wednesday, panicky bankers withdrew $144 billion from money market funds, almost causing a collapse. Hewlett Packard Enterprise rallied 13.7% and Juniper Networks climbed 8.4% after saying they had reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that could clear the way for their merger go through, subject to court approval. On Wall Street, Oracle’s 4.8% rise was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

Bureau of Labor’s CPI since this gives the relative change over time. The recession from 1973 to 1975 also led to a falloff for the Dow, which dropped 45% from its 1,051 peak in 1973 to just under 600 in 1974 (about 7,486 and 3,871 points, respectively, inflation-adjusted). The Dow also lost 26.5% during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. It hit an all-time high of 34,200.67 points on Apr. 16, 2021. In the autumn, it began to consistently close above 35,000 points, and by the last week in December 2021, it surpassed 36,000 points.

Bond market movement

Confidence that a recession could be averted continued into 2024. The Dow climbed above 38,000 in January 2024 and reached 40,000 by May. The index peaked again in July, almost reaching 42,000, then rallied in September when the Fed started cutting interest rates for the first time since 2020. But this robust start was not indicative of extreme volatility the index would face as the year progressed. First, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine saw gas prices spike sharply.

Earlier, the White House’s chief economist, Stephen Miran, told Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi that Trump would likely extend the deadline for countries “negotiating in good faith.” Markets view that as a signal that early US rate cuts have become more likely, given Trump has criticized the Fed chair for not lowering borrowing costs. Rate cut bets have also intensified as the labor market shows continued signs of weakness. We’ve included a few key shocks to the stock markets along these timelines in addition to the presidents who were in office. Admittedly the steady hands of the Federal Reserve chairs during those eras likely had greater sway over the success of the markets than whoever was in the White House.

The Dow, relying on share prices rather than market capitalization, passed 40,000 for the first time on May 16 after Walmart’s prtrend forex broker review shares reached an all-time high. The index passed the threshold again the following day before reaching its all-time intraday high as trading opened the next week. Dow’s record-setting day follows inflation falling to its lowest point in a year, increasing the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates. Consumer prices also fell month-over-month for the first time since 2020. The market responded positively to wholesale prices increasing 0.2% last month, higher than projections of 0.1%, according to FactSet. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq have similarly peaked at record highs this year as technology stocks like Nvidia have swelled—though Nvidia is not a Dow Jones component.

The selection is not based on strict quantitative criteria but rather on the decisions of the editors of the Wall Street Journal. Companies are chosen based on their reputation, growth, and relevance to the economy, with the aim of reflecting the overall health and trends of the industrial sector of the U.S. economy. Previously, the Dow had fallen from 11,723 in January 2000 to 9,389 in March 2001, dropping 20% (from 20,520 to 16,434 points, inflation-adjusted). The bout of inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic led to another sharp sell-off in 2022. Between Jan. 7, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2022, the Dow declined about 21% from 36,231.66 to 28,725.51.

Stock market today: Stock rally leaves S&P 500, Nasdaq within inches of records, Dow gains 400 points

Shares for most of the firms tracked by Dow rose in value on Friday, led by Intel (4.7%), IBM (2.8%) and Home Depot (2.6%), while shares for Walmart, Boeing and JPMorgan Chase fell slightly. “Extreme greed” was the sentiment driving markets, according to CNN’s Fear and Greed index. Wall Street was also monitoring developments on Capitol Hill as lawmakers in the House try to pass Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” And investors were also keeping an eye out for developments on the trade front. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar’s strength against six major foreign currencies, gained 0.45%.

The 1949 Recession

The following are some milestones achieved by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In parentheses, when helpful, we provide the Dow’s points as inflation-adjusted to Feb. 23, 2024, for a relative comparison to its record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, also known as the Dow or DJIA, tracks 30 large, well-known companies that trade on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

How does the Dow Jones Industrial Average work as an investment

Two of his appointees to the Fed have said recently they could consider cutting rates as soon as the Fed’s next meeting in less than a month. Bank stocks were also strong after the Federal Reserve said on Friday that they are financially strong enough to survive a downturn in the economy. JPMorgan Chase climbed 1.8%, Wells Fargo rose 1.5% and Citigroup gained 1.1%. The U.S. stock market being back at a record high could raise the risk of renewed escalations on tariffs, according to strategists at Deutsche Bank led by Parag Thatte and Binky Chadha.

• While it wasn’t as dramatic as the Great Depression, the drop happened much more quickly.
• On July 3, the Dow hit a new high when the Trump administration announced it would resume trade negotiations with China, averting additional tariffs (taxes on imports).
• Then, in the last few months of 2023, investors began piling back in as hopes grew that interest rates would soon be cut and a nasty recession averted.
• The Dow closed just 186 points away from hitting an all-time high.
• Such data has kept the Federal Reserve on hold this year when it comes to interest rates.

Many of Trump’s announced tariffs are currently on pause, and they’re scheduled to kick back into effect in a little more than a week. Please bear with us as we address this and restore your personalized lists. Lisa covers markets and investing for CNBC.com and CNBC Pro. “We will see a real tariff impact for a lot of businesses, but the market is going to digest that without too much trouble,” he also said. While the 40,000 milestone is attention-grabbing, the number itself means little to investors. These big, round numbers don’t mean much, but they do serve as a reminder that over time stock investments can pay off.

Many records were set in 2019, thanks partly to trade talks with China that boosted firms in the index. The longest bull market in history lasted about 11 years, starting in March 2009 and ending in February 2020. The Dow gained 3,472.56 points during 2013, higher than any prior year on record. A November streak occurred after Donald Trump’s presidential win on Nov. 8.

The Recession of 2008–2009

• The broader S&P 500 rose 0.83% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.02%.
• The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq have similarly peaked at record highs this year as technology stocks like Nvidia have swelled—though Nvidia is not a Dow Jones component.
• Oracle helped lead the way after saying it’s off to a strong start in its fiscal year.
• The recession from 1973 to 1975 also led to a falloff for the Dow, which dropped 45% from its 1,051 peak in 1973 to just under 600 in 1974 (about 7,486 and 3,871 points, respectively, inflation-adjusted).
• Trump, meanwhile, has been pushing for more cuts to rates and for them to happen soon.

It’s often the most anticipated economic data of each month, and it will come a day earlier than usual because of the Fourth of July holiday. Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said in an email that the June jobs report signals rate cuts in July are likely off the table. The Fed’s rate-cutting path has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks as Trump has continued a tirade against Fed Chair Jerome Powell, lashing out at him for holding rates steady. Some Fed officials in recent weeks had signaled an openness to cutting rates in July.

Thursday was a shortened trading session, with the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq closing at 1 p.m. The labor market continues to prove resilient, which gives the Fed more time to hold rates steady and focus on how inflation is developing. Treasury yields jumped higher as investors dialed back expectations for future rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year yield rose to 4.34% and the 30-year yield rose to 4.86%. The largest single-day drop, percentage-wise, that the Dow has had occurred when the market crashed on Oct. 19, 1987, Black Monday. However, in points, the Dow’s worst day was March 16, 2020, when it fell 2,997.1 points in reaction to the pandemic-era adoption of lockdowns throughout the U.S. and the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates to near zero.

That’s above the Dow Jones forecast from economists for 110,000 and the upwardly revised 144,000 in May. The unemployment rate also fell to 4.1%, while economists had projected an increase to 4.3%. The close was just shy of a previous record close of 40,003 set on May 17. Traders now expect just a 4.7% chance the Fed cuts rates in July, down from a 23.8% chance yesterday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. While you can’t directly buy shares in the market index, you can invest in the DJIA through index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA). These funds track the DJIA through a similar composition and weighting of stocks.

That correction was more than 16% lower than its all-time high set in May of the same year, putting the index into a correction but not a bear market. Investors worried that China’s yuan devaluation and the uncertainty over the Fed’s rate increase would push the index further downward. All these events created a lot of uncertainty for investors and the Dow bore the brunt of it, falling into a bear market in September 2022. Despite all time highs early in the year, six of the 20 worst-one day point losses for the Dow occurred in 2022. Trump, meanwhile, has been pushing for more cuts to rates and for them to happen soon.