What nickname describes the sharp U.S. stock-market fall in February 1962?

The sharp U.S. stock-market fall in February 1962 was nicknamed the Kennedy Slide.

The decline occurred during the early months of President John F. Kennedy’s administration. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a high in December 1961 before falling sharply in the first half of 1962. By June, the Dow had lost roughly 27 percent from its peak.

The market weakness reflected concerns about slowing economic growth, corporate earnings, inflation, and tensions between the administration and business leaders. Kennedy’s confrontation with the steel industry in April 1962 became part of the market’s political background, although no single event fully explains the decline.

The Kennedy Slide is sometimes mistaken for a market crash named after the president himself. Its established nickname refers specifically to the 1962 decline, not to the 1963 assassination or to a separate recession. The Dow later recovered and entered a strong advance during the mid-1960s.