Which 1973–1974 bear market followed the oil crisis and helped end the postwar economic expansion?

The 1973–1974 bear market followed the oil crisis and helped end the postwar economic expansion.

The downturn developed amid inflation, slowing growth, political uncertainty, and the 1973 oil crisis. In October 1973, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed an oil embargo on countries supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil prices rose sharply, worsening inflation and production costs.

Major stock markets declined heavily. In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from its January 1973 high to a low in December 1974. The period became associated with stagflation, a combination of weak economic growth and high inflation that challenged conventional economic policy.

The crash was not caused by the oil embargo alone. The United States had also experienced monetary tightening, the end of the Bretton Woods system, and political turmoil connected with Watergate. It is therefore best understood as a broad international bear market shaped by several overlapping shocks.