10 Worst Single-Day Drops In Dow Jones History

Last Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial average fell 513 points, or 4.3 percent, making it the worst single-day drop since the depths of the financial crisis. That is, until the following Monday.

On the first day of trading the since Standard and Poor's downgraded U.S. credit to AA-plus from AAA, the Dow Jones dropped by 630 points, or 5.5 percent, according to Google Finance, marking the sixth-worst single-day point drop in the history of the Dow. Now, with two of the ten worst day in history of the Dow Jones occurring within a week of one another, murmurs of the U.S. dipping back into recession are picking up steam.

Still, despite the severity of drops, neither were high enough to become the top drop ever. That title goes to September 29, 2008, when the Dow Jones fell a total of 778 points, or 7 percent, during the depths of the financial crisis. And in terms of percentage decline, the U.S. stock market is nowhere close to its darkest day on Wall Street. On October 19, 1987, for example, the Dow sank an entire 22.6 percent, despite falling by less than Thursday's point total, because it represented a larger portion of the index's total points at the time.

Here are the ten biggest point drops of the Dow Jones Industrial Average counting back to 1899, according to the Associated Press:

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10. August 4th, 2011

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Dow Jones drops 513 points, or 4.3 percent

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Comments

[DSAldridge]

12:39 AM on 08/23/2011

What happened to Black Monday, October 19, 1987 when it lost 26%? I'd say that was pretty bad.

[frank1946]

01:14 AM on 08/12/2011

A share of stock is the discounted present value of future earnings !

Pretty Exciting............I'm going to take up Golf !

I took all my Wife's credit cards away 6 yrs. ago ! Most people in Ameica can cut spending
when they need to....................what is wrong with Obama and Harry and John ?

The FEDS must get 30 % more efficient and we are all Happy !

[Michele Brown]

07:51 AM on 08/11/2011

look at the bright side. time to buy houses!

[genialityofevil]

04:41 PM on 08/10/2011

That last slide pretty much sums it up.

[tonydamato300]

08:01 AM on 08/10/2011

This endless Obama/Bush finger pointing is crazy. Just remember, that right now while this is happening, Congress is on vacation for the entire month of August. Absolutely nothing, comes before their own self interest.

[ddoughty]

10:52 AM on 08/09/2011

The "markets" and the "budget" are two different things.
The markets are actually controlled by people, businesses and emotions... People and businesses get scared, they SELL, they are happy and pleased, they BUY. Look at the "bad times" in the markets over the years and decades and you will see that the people were scared by the POLITICIANS and what they do or don't do.... Same thing yesterday....
The budget is what the POLITICIANS control. Spending in our national budget has truly ruined our country's financial situation, and THAT has scared the people....

[djaikins]

07:03 AM on 08/09/2011

Thank a republican.

[knbyt]

04:28 PM on 08/09/2011

it was bush's fault

[Common sense for all]

04:50 PM on 08/09/2011

You got that right, But he wasnt alone in this mess, it is a systemic flaw that have been in place for well over a hundred years,

[king soloman]

05:33 PM on 08/10/2011

it isnt bushes fault nor is it obamas. Its all the politicians who have allowed this system to gain power! Now the power is slipping from their hands so fast and they have no clue where to go with it! this has been in the works for decades people.

[huffpostfan84]

11:12 PM on 08/08/2011

If you look at the dow's 10 worst days in a percentage form instead of just points you will see that today didn't even make the list. Every year the dow grows which means there are more points to loose. The media spreads fear by covering the point drop and how its the 6th worst in history, when they should actually try and help the current situation and calm the public instead of adding fuel to the fire. (link to dow's worst days) http://www.abc12.com/story/15213002/a-look-at-the-dows-worst-drops-since-1900

[ajm8127]

09:52 AM on 08/09/2011

24 hours news cycle.

[romeoforever]

11:11 PM on 08/08/2011

What happened to that dramatic drop in 1987 which, percentage-wise, was one of the worst ever. And I'd like to point out that Reagan was like a deer in the headlights and had nothing to say - I remember it well.

[rae112754]

05:29 AM on 08/09/2011

Well its better than what Obama has contained since elected to office, that this would never happen to the Dow Jones during his administration.

[TomTheSeal]

08:10 AM on 08/09/2011

It wasn't about Saddam Hussein.

It wasn't about Osama Bin Laden.

It isn't about Obama, Reagan, Bush, or any of the other traitorous turncoats.

Stop playing the "Good-Cop, Bad-Cop" game the powers that be want you to play.

They're BOTH BAD COPS.

Hello ? ITS ABOUT US. ITS ABOUT AMERICA. ITS ABOUT US AMERICANS !

[MANOFCOMMONSENSE]

10:22 PM on 08/08/2011

That split Congress was responsible for the appropriations for fiscal 2002, which put the federal government back into a deficit. After Republicans regained control of the Senate in the November 2002 elections (thus taking control of the budget process for fiscal 2004 which would begin on Oct. 1, 2003), the all-Republican Congress continued running deficits for four fiscal years (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). During that time, with President George W. Bush in the White House, the Republicans controlled both the legislative and executive branches but failed to balance the budget.

http://www.cnsnews.com/node/62793

[Common sense for all]

04:56 PM on 08/09/2011

Deficits and debt isnt a problem we have heard it first hand from the GOP leaders many many times. It is a tool to make sure further down the road that you can steal everything people own and have worked for and make the country into a true plutocracy

Debt and deficit means income and more profit for the mega rich so it makes perfect sense that they wanted to give out bloated defense contracts etc etc etc

[reeltime07]

10:20 PM on 08/08/2011

I don't mean to be picky or point out the most obvious of facts, BBBBBBUUUUUTTTT not a SINGLE ONE of these great losses can be attributed to a single INDEPENDENT PARTY politician or Prez. Now that you know the truth it might be a time to rethink which party ACTUALLY has a better idea of how NOT to make it worse. The Repubs., the Dems.( both of which are PROVEN FAILURES that STILL want to do it the same way they have been), or the Indies.( which haven't screwed up at all yet)?


Don't you love when you can't agree with the obvious. Almost all of you will think just how wrong that conclusion is, because it doesn't agree with your chosen parties conclusion that it's the OTHER GUY'S FAULT!

[MANOFCOMMONSENSE]

10:07 PM on 08/08/2011

We're not going to wade into the debate over how much of the deficit to assign to Bush or Obama's policies. Obama may be laying too much blame for the deficit crisis on Bush policies, and not enough on the recession. But the economic downturn was in full bloom when Obama took office and he is correct that before he enacted any policies as president, the CBO projected a 2009 deficit of $1.2 trillion (as well as significant projected deficits in years to come as well). We rate his statement True.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jul/27/barack-obama/obama-says-deficit-was-track-top-1-trillion-year-h/

[BigSlick674]

08:58 PM on 08/08/2011

It's time to release all the jailed hempsters and fill their empty cells with the GOPBanksters

[BigSlick674]

08:46 PM on 08/08/2011

WHERE IS YOUR JOBS BILL, BOEHNER????

[Objective Indie]

09:09 PM on 08/08/2011

Repeal of obamacare was the first jobs bill and cap cut and balance was the second both were rejected by the dems

[romeoforever]

11:13 PM on 08/08/2011

It's been demonstrated time and again that those schemes do not produce jobs. The rich corporations just pocket the cash and double the work load on the employees they have.

[Brandon Baier]

12:12 AM on 08/09/2011

You realize that by giving EVERYONE in America Healthcare there would be MORE Patients, ergo a higher demand for nurses and doctors, medical assistants, secretaries, candy stripers, service workers, and all the other things that come with running a hospital right? YEAH you thought that idea through for awhile huh. LOL. Objective?!?! Objectivly Ignorant maybe.

[Ortho Stice]

08:04 PM on 08/08/2011

All but one were in past 11 years, 6 of those between 2001-08. Explain to me again how Obama has destroyed the country in 30 months.

[Objective Indie]

09:12 PM on 08/08/2011

Obamas doing great. Keep supporting him.

[Ortho Stice]

09:58 PM on 08/08/2011

I assume that you are being snide, OI. No, he isn't doing great, but I dare say that no one would be doing any better than he under the circumstances. With the exception of FDR's challenges, we are in uncharted territory here.

[ddoughty]

11:03 AM on 08/09/2011

$8.5 Trillion to $14.5 trillion in 2 1/2 years.... Does that answer it for ya?

[Ortho Stice]

04:14 PM on 08/09/2011

I'd love to see that source. Here is mine: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jan/15/david-axelrod/axelrod-claims-bush-saddled-obama-big-deficit/

"The devil can cite scripture for his purpose."—William Shakespeare