Which U.S. index suffered the biggest single-day point drop in the 2008 stock-market crash?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered the biggest single-day point drop in the 2008 stock-market crash.

On September 29, 2008, the Dow fell 777.68 points, then the largest point decline in its history. The fall followed the U.S. House of Representatives’ rejection of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, commonly associated with the proposed $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The point loss reflected the Dow’s index level and the number of points its components moved; it was not the same as the largest percentage decline. Percentage comparisons are more useful when comparing crashes across decades because index levels change over time.

The 2008 crash developed from the global financial crisis, including the U.S. housing-market collapse, mortgage-related losses, credit-market stress, and failures or rescues of major financial institutions. The Dow’s record point decline was later surpassed in 2020.