The sharp U.S. stock-market decline from March 2000 to October 2002 was called the dot-com crash. It followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble, a period when investors placed exceptionally high valuations on internet and technology companies.
The Nasdaq Composite reached an intraday high of 5,132.52 on March 10, 2000. Many newly listed companies had little revenue or no profits, but their shares rose on expectations that internet business models would eventually transform commerce. Rising interest rates and disappointing corporate results helped undermine that optimism.
By October 9, 2002, the Nasdaq had fallen to an intraday low of 1,108.49, an approximate 78% decline from its peak. Some companies disappeared, while others survived and later became important technology businesses. The crash is not the same as the 2008 financial crisis: the dot-com episode centered on technology valuations and corporate failures, whereas 2008 centered on credit, housing and the banking system.