5 Pivotal Moments For the Dow in the Last Decade
- The past two years have seen the Dow record both the biggest points gain and and largest points loss.
- It took 18 years for the U.S. stock market index to double from 10,000 to 20,000.
- The Donald Trump-initiated trade war has had a huge impact on the index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) may be nearly one and a half centuries old but a significant number of its key moments have only happened in the last decade. Over the past ten years, the Dow has experienced some of its most notable developments as it benefited from a long-running bull market. This has seen the Dow reach unprecedented heights and hit new milestones in quick succession. It’s arguably one of the most remarkable ten-year periods in the index’s history.
Here are some of the key moments for the market index that made for a thrilling ride in the last decade.
The largest intra-hour drop in history
Five months into the past decade kicking off, the Dow recorded the biggest intra-hour drop in its lifespan. Known as the May 6, 2010 Flash Crash, the day saw the Dow fall by over 9% in less than an hour. Beginning at 2:00 pm EDT, the stock market index dropped 1.5%. By 2:42 pm, the stock index had lost another 3.9% to reach 10,445.84. As of 2:47 pm, the Dow had shed another 5.49% to hit 9,872.
By the time the stock market closed, the index had recovered a big part of the losses ending the day at 10,520.32. To this day, it remains the Dow’s largest intra-hour drop by a wide margin.
Dow hits 20,000 for the first time
As soon as Donald Trump was elected, there were warnings that it could lead to a stock market crash. But just five days after his inauguration, the Dow pierced above 20,000 for the first time ever.
It had taken nearly two decades since the Dow hit 10,000 to double the number of points.
A little less than a year later on January 4, 2018, the Dow closed above 25,000. The stock market index has since then crossed key psychological levels during the Donald Trump presidency and is now within sight of the 30,000 level. Some analysts even expect it to surge to 40,000 in the next 18 months.
Worst intra-day point decline
On February 5, 2018, the Dow plunged by nearly 1,200 points – a 4.6% decline.
The drop seemed to be a harbinger of more turbulent times for the stock exchange in 2018. Just three days later, the Dow lost 1,032 points in a single day. And in October of the same year, it fell 831 points in one trading session.
The three moments now comprise the largest intra-day point declines in the Dow’s history.
Dow’s best intra-day trading gain
Dow’s largest intra-day points gain was also recorded in 2018. On December 26, 2018, the index surged by 1,086 points to close at 22,878.
This was the first time that the index had appreciated by over 1,000 points in a single session. During the previous trading session on Christmas Eve, the Dow had suffered a 653-point rout.
Trade war ruins 2018 for Donald Trump
Every year since Trump was elected, the Dow has closed higher. This includes the pre-inauguration period when the stock market index went up by 9% between November and December 2016.
In 2017 the Dow rose from 19,872 to close at 24,719, a gain of 24%. The year 2019 promises to be no different, with the index having gone up by around 24% as of Christmas Eve. It broke above 28,000 in mid-November.
But 2018 was the exception with the Dow falling by 6%. This was largely attributed to the trade war that Trump had initiated in January by slapping “safeguard tariffs” on solar panels and washing machines.
This article was edited by Sam Bourgi.
Last modified: December 28, 2019 18:01 UTC
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