The average began to track the strongest corporate stocks in 1896, and through 22 presidents, 24 recessions, a major global economic crisis, and two global epidemics, it was a broad measure of market health. During his journey, he also experienced at least two stock market crashes and countless rallies, corrections, bull and bear markets.
It took just over 120 years for the blue chip index to break the 20,000 mark for the first time in early 2017, immediately after President Donald Trump took office. It took barely a year to reach the 25,000 mark on January 4, 2018.
But the last three years have been more of a roller coaster ride. The Dow and S&P 500 both closed lower in 2018, the worst year for blue chip stocks in the past decade.
Fortunately for stock investors, the bear market has proven to be short-lived. As the Federal Reserve and Congress provide economic assistance, blue chip indices have recovered all their previous losses and then some since the March sale.
Uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election and new hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine may soon be available make the market rolling again. For the first time, the stock market crossed the 30,000 mark on Tuesday morning.
Here are some important stops on the Dow 30,000:
Dow is formed: The first day’s closing, on May 26, 1896, was 40.94. The Dow didn’t get off to a good start, falling 30% to 28.48 on all peaks by August this year.
Dow 100: The Dow first closed in triple digits in January 1906. It was an impressive rally for the average, reaching an all-time low when Teddy Roosevelt was president. The Federal Reserve will not be established for another seven years.
1929 collapse: The Dow fell 38 points on October 28 and another 31 points the next day. It may not sound bad today, but it meant a 13 and 12% drop in the value of the Dow. The two worst overnight percentage declines in the history of the index remain.
Dow 1000: Richard Nixon has just been re-elected to include 49 states. Dow’s unchanged parts for 13 years included Woolworth, Eastman Kodak and International Nickel.
1987 collapse: On Oct. 19, the Dow plunged 508 points, a 23% drop, still the largest overnight percentage drop in history. A week later, I needed an 8% dive. But the damage was short-lived: within a year, the Dow had returned to pre-accident levels.
10,000 Dow: March 29, 1999 The “irrational overflow” of the technology bubble was in full swing as the Dow scored 1,000 points in less than a year to reach that benchmark. That’s 1,000 points more next month.
A year later, the dot-com stock bubble burst and the Dow fell nearly 30% by September 2001.
The collapse of 2008-2009: Due to the financial crisis, the Dow lost about half of its value in less than a year and closed on March 9, 2009 at 6,547. The worst day was September 29, 2008, when the Dow lost its then-record 778. points after Congress rejected the $ 700 billion bank bailout. The save was later approved.
Dow 15,000: May 7, 2013 As the economy continued to recover from the Great Recession, the Dow was one of the strongest periods in the current bull market. It crossed the 15,000 mark and ended the year at 26.5%, signaling the best full-year performance in the current bull market. The Dow almost met in 2017, up 25%.
20,000 Dow: January 25, 2017 The stock market started the day after the 2016 election. The Dow strengthened nearly 10% as investors expected lower taxes and less regulation under the Trump government.
Dow 25,000: January 4, 2018 The adoption of the Trump tax cuts, particularly the reduction in the corporate tax rate in December 2017, has contributed to a rapid shift between 20,000 and 25,000.
