Dow Losses
I find it interesting (and depressing) to look at the all-time Dow Jones Industrial Average largest point and percentage losses. The recent losses have been bad news for most people’s 401Ks. The tables show only the largest one-day losses between a given day’s close and the close of the previous trading day.
Notice that the top point losses all are from 1997 onwards whereas only three of the the top ten percentage losses are from 1987 onwards. As a percentage loss, 2008 only appears in ninth place but takes first, second, fourth, and fifth places in point losses.
Further, the last ten years have claimed eight of the ten highest point losses with half of the top ten taking place in 2008.
Dow Top Ten Largest Daily Point Losses
Click ONCE on column headers to sort.
| Rank | Date | Close | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9/29/2008 | 10365.45 | -777.68 | -6.98 |
| 2 | 10/15/2008 | 8577.91 | -733.08 | -7.87 |
| 3 | 9/17/2001 | 8920.7 | -684.81 | -7.13 |
| 4 | 12/1/2008 | 8,149.09 | -679.95 | -7.70 |
| 5 | 10/9/2008 | 8579.19 | -678.91 | -7.33 |
| 6 | 8/8/2011 | 10809.85 | -634.76 | -5.55 |
| 7 | 4/14/2000 | 10305.78 | -617.77 | -5.66 |
| 8 | 10/27/1997 | 7161.14 | -554.26 | -7.18 |
| 9 | 8/10/2011 | 10719.94 | -519.83 | -4.62 |
| 10 | 10/22/2008 | 8519.21 | -514.45 | -5.69 |
Dow Top Ten Largest Daily Percentage Losses
Click ONCE on column headers to sort.
| Rank | Date | Close | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10/19/1987 | 1738.74 | -508 | -22.61 |
| 2 | 10/28/1929 | 260.64 | -38.33 | -12.82 |
| 3 | 10/29/1929 | 230.07 | -30.57 | -11.73 |
| 4 | 11/6/1929 | 232.13 | -25.55 | -9.92 |
| 5 | 12/18/1899 | 58.27 | -5.57 | -8.72 |
| 6 | 8/12/1932 | 63.11 | -5.79 | -8.4 |
| 7 | 3/14/1907 | 76.23 | -6.89 | -8.29 |
| 8 | 10/26/1987 | 1793.93 | -156.83 | -8.04 |
| 9 | 10/15/2008 | 8577.91 | -733.08 | -7.87 |
| 10 | 7/21/1933 | 88.71 | -7.55 | -7.84 |
Source
For more tables of the Dow largest point and percentage losses see Wikipedia.
Photo Credit
Bear Market by Mark Rain.
Updates
Added a 679.95 point loss for December 1, 2008.
Added a 634.76 point loss for August 8, 2011.
Added a 519.83 point loss for August 10, 2011.
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