Which U.S. stock index reached its 1929 crash low on July 8, 1932?

The U.S. stock index that reached its 1929 crash low on July 8, 1932, was the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Dow had reached a pre-crash closing peak of 381.17 on September 3, 1929. After the October collapse, it continued falling through the early years of the Great Depression. On July 8, 1932, it closed at 41.22, a decline of almost 89 percent from its 1929 peak.

That low was not the end of the wider economic depression. Unemployment, bank failures, falling prices, and reduced industrial production continued to affect the United States. The Dow eventually recovered, but it did not regain its 1929 closing high until November 1954.

The Dow is a price-weighted index of major U.S. companies, so it is not the same as a broad market measure such as the S&P 500. The index also contained different companies in 1932 than it does today, making long-term comparisons useful but imperfect.