The 1962 U.S. stock-market crash named for the steep S&P 500 fall between December 1961 and June 1962 was the Kennedy Slide.
The Kennedy Slide refers to the market decline that began late in 1961 and reached its low in June 1962. The S&P 500 fell about 22.5% from its peak, making the episode one of the sharpest U.S. market declines since the 1929 crash. It was also called the Flash Crash of 1962 in some accounts.
Investor confidence had been weakened by concerns about economic growth, corporate earnings, inflation, and the possibility of tighter monetary policy. The decline was not a single-day collapse like Black Monday in 1987; it unfolded over several months.
The name connects the episode with President John F. Kennedy, who was in office during the decline. That label does not mean Kennedy personally caused the crash. The term is a historical nickname for the market episode, and the economic explanations remain broader than one presidential policy.