Which 1962 U.S. market drop is known as the Kennedy Slide?
Answer
Kennedy Slide of 1962
The 1962 U.S. market drop is known as the Kennedy Slide of 1962.
The decline occurred after a strong rise in stock prices during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Concerns about economic growth, corporate earnings, interest rates, and international tensions contributed to heavy selling. On May 28, 1962, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.7%, then the largest one-day percentage drop since the 1929 crash.
The market eventually recovered, and the episode did not produce a depression comparable to the 1930s. The name refers to President John F. Kennedy’s presidency, not to a single policy announcement that caused the entire decline.
The Kennedy Slide is also called the Flash Crash of 1962 in some historical accounts. It predates modern electronic trading and is unrelated to the 2010 Flash Crash, which involved automated trading and occurred on May 6, 2010.