Which U.S. stock-market bubble burst in March 2000 after soaring technology valuations?

The dot-com bubble was the U.S. stock-market bubble that burst in March 2000 after soaring technology valuations.

During the late 1990s, investors poured money into internet-related companies. Businesses with “.com” names could attract enormous valuations despite limited revenue, continuing losses, or untested business models. Easy access to venture capital and strong enthusiasm about the commercial internet reinforced the boom.

The Nasdaq Composite reached a closing peak of 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. As investors began demanding evidence of sustainable profits, technology shares fell. The index eventually lost roughly 78 percent of its value from peak to October 2002.

The crash did not mean the internet itself lacked economic value. Companies such as Amazon survived and later became dominant, while many heavily promoted startups disappeared. A common mix-up is treating every technology-company failure as the bubble’s cause; the crash resulted from a broad repricing of internet and technology stocks, followed by tighter financing and weaker confidence.