Which 1973–1974 event marked the collapse of the postwar bull market in major Western stock exchanges?

The 1973–1974 stock market crash marked the collapse of the postwar bull market in major Western stock exchanges.

The downturn began after years of rising prices and worsening economic pressures. The collapse of Bretton Woods, the 1973 oil crisis, high inflation, recession, and political uncertainty all damaged investor confidence. In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 45% from its January 1973 high to its December 1974 low.

The decline was international rather than limited to Wall Street. Markets in Britain, Japan, Canada, and other countries also suffered major losses. Inflation combined with weak economic growth produced the condition later known as stagflation.

The crash is sometimes reduced to an oil-price story, but the oil shock was one part of a wider breakdown in the monetary and economic environment. It differed from a one-day panic because the losses accumulated across roughly two years.