Which U.S. technology index fell about 78% from its 2000 peak to its 2002 low?

The Nasdaq Composite fell about 78% from its 2000 peak to its 2002 low.

The decline followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble, a period when investors placed exceptionally high valuations on internet and technology companies. The Nasdaq Composite reached an intraday peak of 5,132.52 on March 10, 2000. It then entered a prolonged bear market, reaching a low near 1,108 in October 2002.

Many companies had little revenue, no profits, or business models based mainly on attracting future users. Rising interest rates and tighter scrutiny of speculative technology shares weakened the market. The September 11 attacks and a broader economic slowdown added to the difficult environment, though the bubble had already begun to deflate.

The Nasdaq Composite is an index containing thousands of stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange, not just technology firms. It is therefore different from the Nasdaq-100, which tracks 100 large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies. The roughly 78% loss describes the Composite’s peak-to-trough decline, not a single day’s fall.