The sharp U.S. stock-market decline during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was nicknamed the Kennedy Slide.
The decline occurred during the first half of 1962, when investors became concerned about slowing economic growth, high valuations, and international tensions. The crisis reached its low point in June, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen roughly 27% from its December 1961 peak. President John F. Kennedy’s administration was also dealing with disputes involving steel prices and corporate policy, adding to uncertainty.
The Kennedy Slide was serious but much shorter and less economically destructive than the 1929 crash. The market recovered strongly after its June low, and the United States did not enter a depression. Its name does not mean that Kennedy caused the decline; it is a later label associating the episode with his presidency. The Cuban Missile Crisis itself took place in October 1962, after the market’s main decline, so the slide and the nuclear standoff should not be treated as the same event.