Stock Market Timeline

By grace dai

  • Founding of NYSE

    NYSE was the first American Stock exchange, founded in 1817 on Wall Street in New York.

  • First Dow Jones Industrial Average Calculated

    Many investors look to the "DOW" to help make decisions about investing. In 1896, Charles Dow calculated his first average.

  • World War I

    Every major European exchange closed. Never had this happened before, and in preparation for the first World War, the economy took a hit. European stock exchanges were making preparations for the inevitable war and its impact.

  • Great Depression Stock Market Crash

    In the decade preceding 1929, the stock prices quadrupled, causing stock investors to invest more money in the market. However, in 1929, the market crashed, ushering the Great Depression.

  • Nagasaki Attack

    After the United States dropped a bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, the DOW increased by 29%. However, it dropped by 23% in the following six months.

  • Eisenhower's Heart Attack

    After soaring 90% in two years, the DOW dropped by 6.5% on September 26, 1955, after President Eisenhower died. However, it went on a rise through the end of the 1950's, increasing by 39%.

  • President Kennedy's Assassination

    The death of President Kennedy shook the nation, but not the stock market. The DOW dropped 3% immediately after his death, but proceeded to increase by 40% through February of 1966.

  • Founding of NASDAQ

    NASDAQ (a dealing market in comparison to NYSE, an auction market) was founded in 1971, and is now the second largest stock exchange in the world, just falling behind NYSE.

  • Opec Oil Embargo Inflation

    Vietnam's aftermath, Watergate, the Arab oil embargo over the Yom Kippur War and rampant inflation put a pall on stocks. The Dow dropped 45% between January 1973 and December 1974.

  • Ronald Reagan Elected President

    The Dow gained 190% between November 1980 and August 1987. Even after the '87 crash, it was 139% higher at the end of Reagan's term in 1989.

  • Stock Market Crash on Black Monday

    On October 19, 1987, Stock Markets around the world crashed, sending the DOW average down by 508 points. The crash started in Hong Kong, rapidly spreading across the world.

  • 9/11 Attacks

    Following the attack of 9/11, U.S. stock markets closed and remained that way for the rest of the week. Once the market re-opened, the S&P lost 11.6% in four trading days.

  • Donald Trump's Presidency Increases Economy

    One year after Donald Trump became president, the DOW hit 22,000 for the first time in history. Since 2016, the economy has been doing well, though many investors are worried for 2018.

  • Black Friday Boosts Retail

    Black Friday has been said to allow companies to stay in the black for the rest of the year. The day boosts the economy, pumping money in and out of the system.

  • Japan's Latest Scandal

    Mitsubishi, one of Japan's Corporate Giants, recently admitted to faking data. Data was falsified for almost 270 million units sold.