Nasdaq became closely associated with the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000.
The Nasdaq Composite was heavily weighted toward technology and internet companies, many of which had high valuations despite limited profits or no established business model. It reached an intraday peak of 5,132.52 on March 10, 2000.
After that peak, investors began reassessing speculative companies, especially as interest rates rose and many firms failed to meet optimistic expectations. The Nasdaq fell about 78% from its 2000 peak to its October 2002 low, wiping out trillions of dollars in market value.
The crash did not mean that the internet itself had failed. Companies such as Amazon and eBay survived and later became major businesses, while many weaker firms disappeared. The common lesson is that a genuine technological transformation can still produce an unsustainable investment boom when prices detach from earnings, cash flow, and realistic growth prospects.