Which 1973–1974 event helped drive a major worldwide bear market after oil prices surged?

The 1973 oil crisis helped drive a major worldwide bear market after oil prices surged.

In October 1973, Arab members of OAPEC announced an oil embargo against countries viewed as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Oil-producing states also reduced output, and the price of crude rose sharply. The shock increased production and transport costs across economies that depended on imported petroleum.

The resulting inflation and economic slowdown damaged corporate profits and investor confidence. In the United States, the S&P 500 fell steeply from its January 1973 peak to its October 1974 low. The market decline was part of a broader period of stagflation rather than a single trading-day collapse.

The 1973 crisis is sometimes confused with the separate 1979 oil crisis, which followed the Iranian Revolution. Both affected markets, but the earlier event was tied directly to the Yom Kippur War and the embargo.