The Nasdaq was the U.S. technology exchange at the center of the dot-com crash.
The Nasdaq Composite rose dramatically during the late 1990s as investors bought internet and technology companies. It reached 5,048.62 on 10 March 2000, its peak during the dot-com bubble. Many firms had little revenue or no profits, yet their shares commanded very high valuations.
The bubble burst after rising interest rates, disappointing results, and changing investor expectations made speculative companies less attractive. The Nasdaq then lost roughly 78 percent of its value by October 2002.
Nasdaq is both an exchange operator and the name commonly used for its broad Composite index. The crash did not mean every technology company failed; established firms such as Microsoft and Intel survived, while many newly listed internet companies disappeared or were acquired.