Major Stock Market Crashes & Recoveries
1929 – The Great Depression
• Crash: Dow Jones lost nearly 90% from 1929 to 1932.
• Recovery time: It took 25 years for the market to return to 1929 highs (not until 1954) fully.
• Why it took so long: Deep recession, policy mistakes (tight money, tariffs), and a lack of strong safety nets.
1973–74 Oil Crisis & Stagflation
• Crash: S&P 500 lost 48% over two years.
• Recovery time: About 6 years to return to previous highs (1980).
• Cause: OPEC oil embargo, inflation, unemployment, and loss of investor confidence.
2000 – Dot-Com Bubble
• Crash: Nasdaq fell 78% from its peak in March 2000 to 2002.
• Recovery time: About 15 years for the Nasdaq fully recovers (2015).
• What happened: Overvaluation of tech companies with no earnings, mass speculation.
2008 – Global Financial Crisis
• Crash: S&P 500 dropped 57% from Oct 2007 to March 2009.
• Recovery time: It took about 4–5 years to recover (2012–2013) fully.
• Trigger: Housing bubble collapse, toxic mortgage-backed securities, and global banking crisis.
2020 – COVID-19 Pandemic Crash
• Crash: S&P 500 plunged 34% in just 33 days (Feb–March 2020).
• Recovery time: Just 5 months — a record-fast rebound.
• Why? Massive central bank intervention (Fed stimulus), government relief packages, and vaccine optimism.
