Which U.S. market index lost about 89% from its 1929 peak to its 1932 low?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 89% from its 1929 peak to its 1932 low.

The Dow reached a pre-crash peak of 381.17 on September 3, 1929, then fell through several waves of selling. Its low of 41.22 came on July 8, 1932. The decline was not completed in a single week: it unfolded over nearly three years as financial failures and economic contraction deepened.

The market collapse coincided with the Great Depression, but historians do not treat the crash alone as its complete cause. Bank failures, reduced production, falling prices, international debt problems, and policy responses helped turn a market panic into a prolonged worldwide depression.

The Dow's nearly 89% decline is often compared with later crashes, but comparisons require care. The index then contained only a small number of companies and was calculated differently from modern broad-market indexes. A percentage decline also does not directly measure total investor returns, because dividends and changing index membership matter.