During the 1962 United States stock-market crash known as the Kennedy Slide, the Dow suffered its largest one-day point loss on May 28, 1962.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.95 points that day, a decline of about 5.7%. The sell-off continued into May 29, when the index dropped another 26.5 points, but May 28 produced the larger point loss.
The episode followed a long period of rising share prices and growing concern about valuations, economic conditions, and corporate profits. President John F. Kennedy’s administration was in office, which helped give the event its popular name, although the crash was not simply caused by a single presidential action.
The Kennedy Slide is often overlooked beside 1929 and 1987 because it was shorter and less destructive to the broader economy. It remains an important example of a sharp postwar U.S. market correction.