The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest close during the 2008 financial crisis on March 9, 2009.
The Dow closed at 6,547.05 that day, its lowest closing level since April 1997. The low came after months of turmoil that included the failure of Lehman Brothers, emergency rescues, frozen credit markets, and a deepening global recession. The market's decline had begun well before the formal crisis peak and continued into early 2009.
The date is often described as the bottom of the 2008 crash, although the financial crisis itself began earlier and its economic effects continued afterward. The Dow then entered a major recovery, supported by extraordinary monetary policy, government interventions, and improving investor expectations. March 9 is also important because it marked a turning point for several other U.S. equity indexes, though each index had its own exact low and the S&P 500's closing low was 676.53 on the same date.