John F. Kennedy's name became attached to the 1962 market drop known as the Kennedy Slide.
The Kennedy Slide was a sharp decline in US stock prices during the spring and summer of 1962. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 26.5% from its December 1961 high to its June 1962 low, making it one of the major postwar market setbacks before the 1970s.
The episode was associated with concerns about economic growth, corporate profits, inflation, and government policy. A dispute between the Kennedy administration and US Steel over price increases also unsettled investors in April 1962, although it was one factor among several rather than a complete explanation.
The label does not mean that Kennedy personally caused the entire decline. It reflects the political setting and the public association with his presidency. The market later recovered, and the United States did not enter a prolonged depression as a result.