Despite all time highs early in the year, six of the 20 worst-one day point losses for the Dow occurred in 2022. Nvidia has recorded the biggest daily jump in market value in the history of Wall Street. The California-based chip maker on Wednesday added $330bn to its market capitalisation – blasting past the previous record it set in February with a $277bn single-day gain. The 12.4% loss on the Nikkei, which closed at 31,458.42, was the worst day for the index since the “Black Monday” of 1987 hit Wall Street. The loss of 4,451.28 points on the index was also the largest in terms of points in its entire history. The Dow lost more than 22% in a single day on Black Monday.

• Between Jan. 7, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2022, the Dow declined about 21% from 36,231.66 to 28,725.51.
• On July 3, the Dow hit a new high when the Trump administration announced it would resume trade negotiations with China, averting additional tariffs (taxes on imports).
• Nvidia has recorded the biggest daily jump in market value in the history of Wall Street.
• But when things seem too good to be true for the stock market, this often proves to be the case, based on what history tells us.

Global Stock Market All-Time Highs – 2025

The Dow rises 19.2% during a post-war recession thanks to strong business spending, even after a decrease in government wartime spending. The Dow’s most volatile period in recent history took place during the Great Recession of 2007–2008. On Oct. 9, 2007, the Dow hit a pre-recession high, closing at 14,164.53 despite growing concerns around the subprime mortgage crisis. Leading up to the Great Recession, banks had offered easy home loans to virtually everyone, including those with bad credit. Falling home prices throughout 2007 prompted defaults on subprime mortgages.

Eventually, a stock market correction, bear market, or elevator-down move will occur again. When it does, remember that history is a long-term ally, and that being optimistic is, statistically, the smartest path to generating riches on Wall Street over long periods. No amount of well-wishing or fiscal/monetary policy maneuvering can prevent these typically emotion-driven moves from occurring. By Jan. 20, it closed at 15,766.74, as investors panicked over plummeting oil prices, the devaluation of the yuan, and turmoil in China’s stock market. It hit two of them in the first few weeks in January, closing above 25,000 on Jan. 4.

At the same time, the strength in the U.S. labor market meant extremely competitive wages driving consumer demand. Both of those factors sent inflation in the U.S. soaring to record levels not seen in over 40 years. This was the Dow’s third consecutive trading day with a record close and the fourth record closing in just two months. The previous high was recorded just a day prior, when the index ended the trading day at 36,585.06. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services.

Dow Jones All-Time Highs vs. Other Major Indices (

The beautiful thing about history is that it cuts right through the emotional aspects of investing and presents objective data. While the Shiller P/E is unable to tell us when stock reversals will occur, history makes clear that a valuation premium of the magnitude we’re witnessing right now isn’t sustainable. The easiest way to invest in the Dow may be to buy shares in State Street Global Advisors’ SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, which trades under the ticker symbol DIA. The downturn reflected a 10-month recession, from July 1953 to May 1954, during the military demobilization following the Korean War. The Dow fell 17% in three months, from 2,864.60 on Aug. 2 to 2,365.10 on Oct. 11, 1990.

What Do New Dow Highs Mean for Investors in 2025?

It didn’t matter if there was a recession, depression, war, pandemic, high inflation, stagflation, or a stock market crash — investors would have grown their nest egg every time if they simply stayed the course. On that day, it closed at 7,286.27, a 37.8% decline from its peak. No one knew if a new bull market had begun until the Dow hit a higher low on March 11, 2003, closing at 7,524.06. The Dow’s history underscores the inevitable volatility of the stock market.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq, Nikkei, and DAX all set records in 2025 too, fueled by strong tech earnings and hopes of lower rates. Record highs usually follow strong earnings, low interest rates, tech rallies, and economic growth. Central bank policy and investor optimism also play big roles. By mid-2025, the S&P 500 reached 5,680, and the Nasdaq hit 19,810—driven mainly by tech stocks.

By the end of 2023, the previous high, registered in January 2022, had been surpassed, and the 37,000 mark had been breached. The Dow hit one milestone and had 26 closing records in 2016. Of the 26 records set that year, 17 occurred after the presidential election.

Investors worried that China’s yuan devaluation and the uncertainty over the Fed’s rate increase would push the index further downward. The index had three nine-day runs, last occurring in 1955 (when there were four nine-day stretches). The Dow continuously moved higher eight months in a row (the last occurrence of this was in 1995). In 2019, the Dow hit two milestones and set 22 record closes. On July 3, the Dow hit a new high when the Trump administration announced it would resume trade negotiations with China, averting additional tariffs (taxes on imports). All these events created a lot of uncertainty for investors and the Dow bore the brunt of it, falling into a bear market in September 2022.

What the market’s highs and lows mean for you

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) hit its record high on May 16, 2024, reaching 40,051.05 points during intraday trading.
• Uncertainty had been hanging over the markets because of the unprecedented refusal of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, to concede the election to President-elect Biden.
• With inflation cooling and the Fed signaling possible rate cuts, analysts expect more record-setting moves through late 2025.
• Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool’s premium services.

When the stock market crashed on October 19, 1987 — a date known colloquially as Black Monday — the Dow experienced its largest percentage drop in history, a whopping 22.6% decrease in a single day. The 2008 stock market crash was more dramatic than any other downturn in U.S. history. This was less than the 90% drop during the Great Depression. It took almost four years for the market to bottom out at that time. The Dow started 2022 with a flourish, breaking closing records in the first two trading days of the year. The most recent record closing occurred on Jan. 4, when the index closed at 36,799.65, blowing past the all-time high closing of 36,585.06 it had just a day before.

How does the Dow compare to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in 2025?

The Dow tracks 30 large, publicly owned blue-chip companies trading binary options explained on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The selection is not based on strict quantitative criteria but rather on the decisions of the editors of the Wall Street Journal. Companies are chosen based on their reputation, growth, and relevance to the economy, with the aim of reflecting the overall health and trends of the industrial sector of the U.S. economy. Uncertainty had been hanging over the markets because of the unprecedented refusal of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, to concede the election to President-elect Biden.

What Is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) hit its record high on May 16, 2024, reaching 40,051.05 points during intraday trading. The Dow’s all-time high at market close stands at 39,908.00, reached on May 15, 2024. Please refer to Titan’s Program Brochure for important additional information. Before investing, you should consider your investment objectives and any fees charged by Titan. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments.

These changes are not done often to ensure the index’s stability and continuity. Previously, the Dow had fallen from 11,723 in January 2000 to 9,389 in March 2001, dropping 20% (from 20,520 to 16,434 points, inflation-adjusted). The bout of inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic led to another sharp sell-off in 2022. Between Jan. 7, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2022, the Dow declined about 21% from 36,231.66 to 28,725.51. It hit an all-time high of 34,200.67 points on Apr. 16, 2021.