Which U.S. market index lost more than half its value during the 2000–2002 dot-com crash?

The Nasdaq Composite lost more than half its value during the 2000–2002 dot-com crash.

The index peaked at 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000, after years of enthusiasm for internet and technology companies. Many businesses had little revenue or profit, yet their shares reached extreme valuations. When expectations changed, technology stocks fell rapidly and the Nasdaq Composite eventually declined about 78% from its peak by October 2002.

The crash did not eliminate the internet economy. Instead, it removed many speculative companies and forced surviving firms to demonstrate sustainable business models. The Nasdaq Composite is often confused with the Nasdaq-100: the Composite covers thousands of Nasdaq-listed securities, while the Nasdaq-100 tracks 100 of the largest non-financial companies on the exchange. The dot-com crash also affected the broader S&P 500, but its technology-heavy Nasdaq benchmark suffered the most dramatic fall.