The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell approximately 89% from its 1929 peak to its 1932 trough in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
The Dow reached a then-record closing high of 381.17 on September 3, 1929. After a series of turbulent sessions in October, the market continued falling for several years as the crash merged with the wider economic collapse of the Great Depression. The index reached a low of 41.22 on July 8, 1932.
The roughly 89% peak-to-trough figure describes the full bear market, not just the dramatic trading days in October 1929. This distinction matters: the crash is often treated as a single event, but the market’s decline extended well beyond Black Thursday and Black Tuesday.
The Dow did not recover its September 1929 closing high until November 1954. The long recovery period is one reason the 1929 episode remains the benchmark against which later stock-market crashes are compared.