The 1962 U.S. stock-market sell-off associated with Cold War tensions and falling technology shares was the Kennedy Slide of 1962.
The decline ran from December 1961 into June 1962, with the sharpest damage concentrated in May and June. On May 28, 1962, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.7%, one of its worst percentage declines up to that time. The market had been vulnerable after a long advance, and investors became worried about economic growth, corporate earnings, and international tensions.
The episode’s name refers to President John F. Kennedy’s presidency, not to a formal government program. It also became associated with a speculative boom in growth and technology companies whose valuations had risen substantially.
The market eventually recovered, and the slide did not produce a depression. It is sometimes confused with later political or economic shocks, but the Kennedy Slide specifically identifies this 1961–1962 U.S. equity decline.