Which 1973 event helped trigger the severe 1973–1974 global stock-market crash?

The 1973 oil crisis helped trigger the severe 1973–1974 global stock-market crash.

In October 1973, Arab members of OPEC imposed an oil embargo on countries viewed as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil prices rose sharply, creating inflationary pressure and increasing costs for transport, manufacturing, and households.

The shock arrived alongside slowing economic growth and monetary tightening. Together, these forces contributed to stagflation and a major fall in stock prices. In the United States, the S&P 500 declined heavily between its January 1973 peak and October 1974 low.

The oil crisis was a major catalyst rather than the only cause. The era also included the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, high inflation, and concerns about weak corporate earnings. The Suez Crisis was an earlier oil-related geopolitical disruption, not the event associated with this crash.