The Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 78% from its 2000 peak to its 2002 low during the dot-com crash.
The technology-heavy index closed at 5,048.62 on 10 March 2000, after reaching an intraday high of 5,132.52. It later reached a bear-market closing low of 1,114.11 on 9 October 2002. The peak-to-low decline was approximately 78%.
The index was especially exposed because many of its listed companies were technology, telecommunications, and internet businesses. Investors had bid up shares on expectations of rapid online growth, even when companies lacked profits or sustainable revenue.
The fall was larger than the declines in broader U.S. benchmarks, which had less concentrated exposure to technology shares. This statistic measures the Nasdaq Composite’s entire peak-to-trough move. It should not be confused with the single-session loss on a particular trading day or with the later 2008 financial crisis.