Closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial Average

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This article is a summary of the closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a United States stock market index. Since first closing at 62.76 on February 16, 1885,[1] the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased, despite several periods of decline.

Milestone highs and lows


Linear graph of the DJIA from 1896 through April 2008

Logarithmic graph of the DJIA from 1896 through July 2011
Like most other stock market indexes, the Dow undergoes periods of general increase and general declines or stagnation. A bull market is a term denoting a period of price increases, while a bear market denotes a period of declines. Wall Street generally considers a bear market in session when multiple broad market indexes have a downturn of 20% or more in value.[2]
There are two types of bull markets. A secular bull market is a period in which the stock market index is continually reaching all-time highs with only brief periods of correction, as during the 1990s, and can last upwards of 15 years. A cyclical bull market is a period in which the stock market index is reaching 52-week or multi-year highs and may briefly peak at all-time highs before a rapid decline, as in the early 1970s. It usually occurs within relatively longer bear markets and lasts about three years.
The following are the secular bull and bear markets experienced by the Dow since its inception:
  • 1885–1890: Bull market. From its first close of 62.76 on February 16, 1885, the Dow rises steadily for five years, until reaching a peak of 78.38 on June 4, 1890. This record would stand for nearly 15 years, until the Dow closed at 79.27 on March 24, 1905.[3]
  • 1890–1896: Bear market. The Dow plunges over 63% over the next six years, to set an all-time low of 28.48, on August 8, 1896.[4]
  • 1896–1906: Bull market. After setting an all-time low during the summer of 1896, the Dow quickly erases these losses, and eventually reaches a peak of 103.00 on January 19, 1906.
  • 1906–1915: Bear market. The Dow loses 48.5% of its value over the next 22 months, before reaching a low of 53 on November 15, 1907. From 1906 to 1915, the Dow remains stuck trading between 53 and 103. The index reaches a secondary low of 53.17 on December 24, 1914.
  • 1915–1919: Bull market. After hitting a seven-year low in late 1914, the Dow rises 125% over the next five years, reaching a new high of 119.62 on November 3, 1919.[5]
  • 1919–1921: Bear market. The Dow loses 46.6% of its value in just over 21 months, before reaching a low of 63.90 on August 24, 1921.[6]
  • 1921–1929: Bull market. Over the next eight years, the Dow increases nearly 500%, and eventually grows to a closing high of 381.17 (theoretical intra-day high of 386.10) on September 3, 1929.
  • 1929–1949: Bear market. The stock market crash of 1929 precedes the Great Depression. The Dow plunges to 41.22 (theoretical intra-day low of 40.56) on July 8, 1932, thus erasing 33 years of gains, in just under three years. Although cyclical bull markets occur in the 1930s and 1940s, the index takes 22 years to surpass its previous highs.
  • 1949–1966: Bull market. The Dow posts impressive growth in the booming economy following the Second World War. Starting from 161.60[7] in June 1949, when P/E ratios reach multi-decade lows, the index ends just five points below 1,000 on February 9, 1966. The inflation-adjusted high set on December 31, 1965[8] would not be surpassed for nearly 30 years, until the Dow's first close above 4,700 on July 7, 1995.[9]
  • 1966–1982: Bear market. Traders deal with a stagnant economy in an inflationary monetary environment. The Dow enters two long downturns in 1970 and 1974; during the latter, it falls nearly 45% to the bottom of a 20-year range.
  • 1982–2000: Bull market. The Dow experiences its most spectacular rise in history. From a meager 777 on August 12, 1982, the index grows more than 1,500% to close at 11,722.98 by January 14, 2000, without any major reversals except for a brief but severe downturn in 1987, which includes the largest daily percentage loss in Dow history.
  • 2000–2003: Bear market. The index meanders, and then plunges nearly 40%, to a closing low of 7,286.27 on October 9, 2002.
  • 2003–2007: Bull market. A cyclical bull closing peak of 14,164.53, reached exactly five years later, does not surpass the inflation-adjusted high set on December 31, 1999.[10][11]
  • 2007–2009: Bear market. A renewed bear is recognized in summer 2008 and multiple volatility records are set that autumn. Another acute phase in early 2009 brings the index to new 12½ year closing low of 6,547.05, on March 9, 2009, for a total loss of 54% in 17 months.
  • 2009–present: Bull market. The Dow remains volatile during its ensuing climb, losing almost 20% during the summers of 2010 and 2011, however, by February 1, 2013, the index finally closes above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007.[12] The Dow continues upward to surpass its prior all-time record on March 5, 2013 and, by the end of 2013, sets a new all-time inflation-adjusted high for the first time since the end of 1999.[13]

Incremental closing milestones

The following is a list of the milestone closing levels of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (5-point increments are used up to the 100-point level; 10 to 200; 20 to 500; 50 to 1,000; 100 to 2,000; 200 to 5,000; 500 to 10,000; and 1,000-point increments thereafter.)
Milestone Closing Level Date first achieved
The late 19th century and early 20th century bull market (1896–1906)
80 80.02 March 31, 1905
85 85.22 November 20, 1905
90 90.82 December 5, 1905
95 95.13 December 12, 1905
100 100.25 January 12, 1906
The late 1910s bull market (1915–1919)
103.001 103.11 September 28, 1916
110 110.13 November 18, 1916
The 1920s bull market (1921–1929)
119.622 & 120 120.51 December 31, 1924
130 130.42 June 2, 1925
140 140.20 August 15, 1925
150 150.29 October 20, 1925
160 160.53 February 4, 1926
170 170.29 May 19, 1927
180 180.09 July 27, 1927
190 190.00 August 29, 1927
200 200.93 December 19, 1927
220 220.09 May 8, 1928
240 240.41 August 31, 1928
260 260.68 November 7, 1928
280 283.90 November 20, 1928
300 300.00 December 31, 1928
320 322.06 February 5, 1929
340 340.28 July 2, 1929
360 361.49 August 16, 1929
380 380.33 August 30, 1929
The post-World War II boom (1949–1966)
381.173 382.74 November 23, 1954
400 401.97 December 29, 1954
420 420.94 April 12, 1955
440 440.17 June 13, 1955
460 467.41 July 6, 1955
480 480.93 September 13, 1955
500 500.24 March 12, 1956
550 550.68 November 5, 1958
600 602.21 February 20, 1959
650 650.88 July 1, 1959
700 705.52 May 17, 1961
750 750.77 October 17, 1963
800 800.14 February 28, 1964
850 851.35 July 17, 1964
900 900.95 January 28, 1965
950 950.28 October 21, 1965
The 1970s bear market (1966–1982)
995.154 995.26 November 10, 1972
1,0005 1,003.16 November 14, 1972
The 1980s bull market (1982–1987)
1,051.706 1,065.49 November 3, 1982
1,100 1,121.81 February 24, 1983
1,200 1,209.46 April 26, 1983
1,300 1,304.88 May 20, 1985
1,400 1,403.44 November 6, 1985
1,500 1,511.70 December 11, 1985
1,600 1,600.69 February 6, 1986
1,700 1,713.99 February 27, 1986
1,800 1,804.24 March 20, 1986
1,900 1,903.54 July 1, 1986
2,000 2,002.25 January 8, 1987
2,200 2,201.49 February 5, 1987
2,400 2,405.54 April 6, 1987
2,600 2,635.84 August 10, 1987
The 1990s bull acceleration (1989–2000)
2,722.427 2,734.64 August 24, 1989
2,800 2,810.15 January 2, 1990
3,0008 3,004.46 April 17, 1991
3,200 3,201.48 January 3, 1992
3,400 3,413.21 June 1, 1992
3,600 3,604.86 August 18, 1993
3,800 3,803.88 January 6, 1994
4,0009 4,003.33 February 23, 1995
4,200 4,201.61 April 4, 1995
4,400 4,404.62 May 10, 1995
4,600 4,615.23 July 5, 1995
4,800 4,801.80 September 14, 1995
5,000 5,023.55 November 21, 1995
5,500 5,539.45 February 8, 1996
6,000 6,010.00 October 14, 1996
6,500 6,547.79 November 25, 1996
7,000 7,022.43 February 13, 1997
7,500 7,539.27 June 10, 1997
8,000 8,038.88 July 16, 1997
8,500 8,545.71 February 27, 1998
9,000 9,033.22 April 6, 1998
9,500 9,544.97 January 6, 1999
10,000 10,006.78 March 29, 1999
11,000 11,014.69 May 3, 1999
The 2000s cyclical bull market (2003–2007)
11,722.9810 11,727.34 October 3, 2006
12,000 12,011.73 October 19, 2006
13,000 13,089.89 April 25, 2007
14,000 14,000.41 July 19, 2007
The early 2010s bull market (2009–Present)
14,164.5311 14,253.77 March 5, 2013
15,000 15,056.20 May 7, 2013
16,000 16,009.99 November 21, 2013
17,000 17,068.26 July 3, 2014
1This was the Dow's close at the peak on January 19, 1906.
2This was the Dow's close at the peak on November 3, 1919.
3This was the Dow's close at the peak of the 1920s bull market on Tuesday, September 3, 1929. This level would not be seen again until Tuesday, November 23, 1954, a rather lengthy 25 years and 2 1/2 months later.
4This was the Dow's close at the peak on February 9, 1966.
5The Dow first exceeded 1,000 during the trading day on Tuesday, January 18, 1966, but dropped back before closing that day. It would take another six years and ten months before it finally closed above 1,000 for the first time on Tuesday, November 14, 1972.
6This was the Dow's close at the peak on January 11, 1973.
7This was the Dow's close at the peak of August 25, 1987.
8The Dow reached an intraday high above 3,000 for the first time on Friday, July 13, 1990, before falling back below by the close. The average closed at 2,999.75 on Monday, July 16, 1990, and closed unchanged the following day;[14] however, it would take until April 17 of the next year for the Dow to finally close above 3,000.
9The Dow first exceeded 4,000 during the trading day on Monday, January 31, 1994, but dropped back before closing that day. It would take another one year and less than a month before it finally closed above 4,000 for the first time on Thursday, February 23, 1995.
10This was the Dow's close at the peak on January 14, 2000.
11This was the Dow's close at the peak on October 9, 2007.

Record highs

Closing:[15] 17,827.75 Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Intra-day Actual:[16] 17,894.83 Friday, November 21, 2014
All-Time Daily Theoretical High:1[17] 17,952.60 Friday, November 21, 2014
1Theoretical High calculates the Dow's Level using the day's high of each of the 30 of the component stocks, regardless of the different times of day when they occurred.[18]

See also

References

External links