Biggest Dow Percentage Losses
Bill Sullivan
October 15, 2008
Wednesday’s 733.08-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average wasn’t just the second-largest point decline of all time; it also represented the ninth-biggest percentage drop in the history of the index.
Here’s a list of the 10 worst days for the Dow in terms of percentage loss:
| Date |
Close |
Decrease |
Percent |
| 10/19/1987 |
1738.74 |
508.00 |
22.61 |
| 10/28/1929 |
260.00 |
38.33 |
12.83 |
| 10/29/1929 |
230.07 |
30.57 |
11.73 |
| 11/06/1929 |
232.13 |
25.55 |
9.92 |
| 12/18/1899 |
58.27 |
5.57 |
8.72 |
| 08/12/1932 |
63.11 |
5.79 |
8.40 |
| 03/14/1907 |
76.23 |
6.89 |
8.29 |
| 10/26/1987 |
1793.93 |
156.83 |
8.04 |
| 10/15/2008 |
8577.91 |
733.08 |
7.87 |
| 07/21/1933 |
88.71 |
7.55 |
7.84 |
Source: Wall Street Journal
biggest Dow percentage declines | Dow Jones Industrial average | largest percentage Dow drops | New York Stock Exchanges | Wall Street
