The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest closing value of 41.22 on July 8, 1932, during the market bottom of the Great Depression.
The figure represented a devastating fall from the Dow’s pre-crash closing peak of 381.17 on September 3, 1929. The decline reflected not only the initial Wall Street panic but also the prolonged economic contraction that followed, including bank failures, falling prices, unemployment, and collapsing corporate earnings.
The 1932 low was the closing low, not necessarily the lowest quotation observed during every trading moment. It is also different from the percentage loss on individual crash days. The market’s long descent shows why the 1929 crash is best understood as part of a broader financial and economic crisis.
The Dow eventually recovered its 1929 closing peak in 1954, more than two decades after the 1932 bottom.