Which technology-heavy U.S. stock index became the main benchmark of the dot-com crash?

The Nasdaq Composite became the main benchmark of the dot-com crash. It is a market index that includes thousands of companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, with a heavy concentration in technology and internet-related businesses.

During the late-1990s technology boom, investors bid up shares of companies associated with the internet, often despite limited profits or no established business model. The Nasdaq Composite reached a then-record closing level of 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. After the bubble began to deflate, the index fell steeply as speculative companies lost access to easy financing and investors reassessed technology valuations.

The Nasdaq Composite ultimately lost roughly 78% of its value from its March 2000 peak to its October 2002 low. The index’s decline is central to accounts of the dot-com bubble and crash. It is distinct from the Nasdaq-100, which tracks 100 large non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq, while the Composite covers all eligible common-equity listings on the exchange.