Which U.S. stock index lost 89% from its 1929 peak to its 1932 low during the Great Crash?

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

The Dow reached a closing high of 381.17 on September 3, 1929. After a series of dramatic declines, it reached a low of 41.22 on July 8, 1932. The fall reflected both the collapse of speculative share prices and the broader economic contraction that became the Great Depression.

The Dow was a price-weighted index, so companies with higher share prices had greater influence on its movements. It contained only a small group of major U.S. companies, unlike broad modern indexes that include hundreds or thousands of stocks.

The 1929 crash did not cause every aspect of the Depression by itself. Banking failures, falling demand, deflation, international debt problems, and policy responses also played major roles.