Which 1973–1974 bear market followed the oil crisis and ended with the Dow Jones at its lowest level since 1962?

The 1973–1974 stock-market crash was the prolonged bear market that followed the 1973 oil crisis and ended with the Dow Jones at its lowest level since 1962.

The decline began amid inflation, slowing economic growth, political uncertainty, and the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system. The October 1973 Arab oil embargo then sharply increased energy prices and intensified fears of recession. In the United States, the Watergate scandal further weakened confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 45% from its January 1973 peak to its December 1974 low. The bear market affected other major markets as well, making it one of the worst postwar equity declines before 1987.

The episode is sometimes confused with the oil crisis itself. The oil crisis was a major economic trigger, while the 1973–1974 stock-market crash describes the sustained decline in share prices. Inflation and unemployment together produced the period's characteristic stagflation.