What was the largest one-day point loss in the Dow during the 2008 financial crisis?

The Dow’s largest one-day point loss during the 2008 financial crisis was 777.68 points on 29 September 2008.

The drop followed the U.S. House of Representatives’ rejection of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, commonly associated with the proposed $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Investors feared that policymakers had failed to create a way to stabilize the financial system.

The percentage decline was about 6.98%, but the point loss was the largest in the Dow’s history at that time. The distinction matters because index point records depend on the index’s level, while percentage records compare the size of the move with the starting value.

The rescue legislation was later revised and enacted. The 2008 crisis involved collapsing housing-related finance, failures and rescues of major institutions, frozen credit markets, and a prolonged global recession.