What was the name of the 1962 U.S. stock-market collapse known as the Kennedy Slide?

Kennedy Slide was the name of the 1962 U.S. stock-market collapse associated with a sharp decline in share prices.

The episode ran from late 1961 into June 1962 and became especially severe in May and June. On May 28, 1962, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its largest one-day point decline up to that time. The market’s weakness reflected concerns about economic growth, corporate earnings, tighter monetary conditions, and high valuations in some popular stocks.

The word Kennedy refers to President John F. Kennedy, whose administration was in office during the decline. It does not mean that Kennedy personally caused a single-day crash. The administration’s conflict with the steel industry in April 1962 also affected investor confidence, although historians discuss the event within a wider economic context.

The Kennedy Slide is sometimes confused with the 1987 crash because both were major U.S. market declines. The 1962 episode was much smaller in percentage terms and occurred before computerized trading became a major market force.