Which U.S. president’s 1962 market slide became known as the Kennedy Slide?

The 1962 market slide became known as the Kennedy Slide during John F. Kennedy’s presidency.

The Kennedy Slide was a sharp fall in U.S. stock prices during the first half of 1962. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined about 26.5% from its December 1961 high to its June 1962 low. It was one of the most severe market declines since the 1929 crash.

Investors worried about slowing economic growth, possible recession, inflation, and tensions surrounding the Cold War. Concerns about corporate earnings also weakened confidence. The market’s sharpest single-day fall occurred on May 28, 1962, a day sometimes called the Flash Crash of 1962.

The episode was not a collapse of the scale of 1929. The economy recovered, and the Dow eventually moved to new highs. Its popular name connects it to the president in office, not to a policy formally called the Kennedy Slide. That distinction helps separate this event from the later crash associated with Black Monday.