‘It’s Clearly Bleak’: Stocks Notch Longest Losing Streak in Months (2024)

FAQs

What is the biggest stock market drop in history? ›

Black Monday crash of 1987

Black Monday, as the day is now known, marks the biggest single-day decline in stock market history. The remainder of the month wasn't much better; by the start of November 1987, most of the major stock market indexes had lost more than 20% of their value.

That's according to Dow Jones Market Data, as Salesforce shares contribute a loss of 382 points to the Dow. Prior to this, the biggest one-day point detractor to the index was United Health Group on March 16, 2020, when it erased 318.76 points from the Dow.

The S&P 500 generated an impressive 26.29% total return in 2023, rebounding from an 18.11% setback in 2022. Heading into 2024, investors are optimistic the same macroeconomic tailwinds that fueled the stock market's 2023 rally will propel the S&P 500 to new all-time highs in 2024.

How does SPY usually behave after a large single-day down move in the stock price? Using the 12 largest single-day down moves over the last 3 years in SPY stock, the average move was -3.4% with the single largest daily move of -4.3% occurring on 13-Sep-2022.

Starting with the “tech wreck” in 2000, inflation totaled 35.7%, prolonging the real recovery in purchasing power an additional seven years and nine months. The bounce-back from the 2008 crash took five and a half years, but an additional half year to regain your purchasing power.

And the shocking leader of the bunch? President Calvin Coolidge, who took office in 1923, whose stock price performance change was a whopping 208.52%, for an average monthly return of 1.74%. That's the largest for any president since the start of the 20th century.

One of the biggest reasons traders lose money is a lack of knowledge and education. Many people are drawn to trading because they believe it's a way to make quick money without investing much time or effort. However, this is a dangerous misconception that often leads to losses.

Another reason why day traders tend to lose money is that it's very different from long-term investing. While traders take advantage of price swings (which means they have to make specific predictions), investors tend to buy a diversified basket of assets for the long haul.

The statistic shows the worst days of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index from 1897 to 2023. The worst day in the history of the index was October 19 1987, when the index value decreased by 22.61 percent.

Unlike the rapidly dwindling balance in your brokerage account, cash will still be in your pocket or in your bank account in the morning. However, while moving to cash might feel good mentally and help you avoid short-term stock market volatility, it is unlikely to be a wise move over the long term.

Should I liquidate my stocks? ›

Investors might sell a stock if it's determined that other opportunities can earn a greater return. If an investor holds onto an underperforming stock or is lagging the overall market, it may be time to sell that stock and put the money to work in another investment.

Dubbed the Magnificent Seven stocks, Apple, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla lived up to their name in 2023 with big gains. But the middle part of the second quarter of 2024 showed a big divergence of returns.

Bottom Line. Since 1957, the S&P 500's average annual rate of return has been approximately 10.5% (through March 2023) and around 6.6% after adjusting for inflation.

There are some who believe that certain days offer systematically better returns than others, but over the long run, there is very little evidence for such a market-wide effect. Still, people believe that the first day of the workweek is best. It's called the Monday effect or the weekend effect.

The 1987 stock market crash, or Black Monday, is known for being the largest single-day percentage decline in U.S. stock market history. On Oct. 19, the Dow fell 22.6 percent, a shocking drop of 508 points. The crash was somewhat of an isolated incident and didn't have anywhere near the impact that the 1929 crash did.

From their peaks in October 2007 until their closing lows in early March 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 all suffered declines of over 50%, marking the worst stock market crash since the Great Depression era.

Key Takeaways. The terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001 was marked by a sharp plunge in the stock market, causing a $1.4 trillion loss in market value. The first week of trading after the attacks saw the S&P 500 fall more than 14%, while gold and oil rallied.