MARKET REACTIONSTO PREVIOUS CRISES1906: Earthquake in San Francisco caused a break of about 12 percent in the Dow over a period of about three weeks. 1914: World War I started, pitting Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers) against Britain, France and Russia. On July 31, the New York Stock Exchange closed for the first time since 1873 and did not resume trading until Dec. 15, It reopened about 3 points higher. 1917: From the day the United States entered World War I in April to year's end, the market declined by about 35 percent. 1939: When Britain and France announced they would defend Poland in March, the Dow dropped about 20 percent over a month. 1940: The blitzkrieg in the spring caused a 25 percent drop over a period of two weeks. 1941: Pearl Harbor. The Dow was at approximately 117 in December 1941. It fell to 93 by early May 1942--a 20 percent drop. It then rallied to 145 by July 1943. 1950: After the Korean War began in June, the market dropped 13 percent in a month. 1956: The Israelis, British and French invaded Egypt after it seized the Suez Canal. The Dow lost 10 percent during the four-month period. 1962: In August, when the markets endured the Cuban missile crisis, the Dow was at 615. It fell to 550 in October and rose to 650 in December and 767 by December 1963. 1963: On Nov. 22, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and the markets fell 20 points in 20 minutes before being shut down. When the markets reopened under Lyndon B. Johnson, the Dow went from 712 in November to 825 by April 1964 and 891 by November 1964. 1974: The United States was in the midst of a bear market when OPEC instituted an oil embargo. Over the next nine months the Standard & Poor's 500 dropped a further 40 percent. |
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