Worst Week For The Dow in Index History

This last week was the worst week for the Dow both in terms of points and percentage in the history of the index. The market opened with a 697 drop within the first five minutes dropping below the 7,900 mark. At one point in the day the Dow was up 322 points making it the largest one day swing in history. The Dow ended the day 128 points down.

All told, that is an 18% drop in the down just for the week or just more than an 1,874 point drop. In real dollar terms the market lost just under two and a half trillion dollars ($2,500,000,000,000); incredible. Keep in mind that is just for the week, five days, and only in the United States market.

The Dow has lost more than 40% off its high set roughly a year ago. The S&P 500 is down 43% from it's high mark also set about a year ago. From the same time period (though not from its all time high) the Nasdaq is down slightly more than 42%


http://money.cnn.com
http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/10/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm

"For the week, the Dow fell just over 1,874 points, or 18%, its worst weekly decline ever on both a point and percentage basis. Wall Street lost roughly $2.4 trillion in market value during the week, according to losses in the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, the broadest measure of the market.
...
In the first five minutes of trade Friday the Dow plunged 697 points, falling below 7,900 to the lowest point since March 17, 2003. The Nasdaq and S&P also hit more than five-year lows. But stocks recovered abruptly, with the Dow erasing losses. The afternoon saw the Dow make violent swings back and forth across the breakeven line, toppling as much as 600 points and rising 322 points.
...
Since hitting all-time highs a year ago, the Dow has lost just over 40% and the S&P 500 has lost 43%. The Nasdaq has not come close to reclaiming its tech-bubble record, but it did hit multi-year highs last October. Since then, the Nasdaq has fallen just over 42%."


http://www.bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/index.html?Intro=intro_markets

"Market Snapshot

DJIA 8,451.19 -128.00 -1.49%
Nasdaq 1,649.51 4.39 0.27%
S&P 500 899.22 -10.70 -1.18%
S&P/TSX 9,065.16 -535.02 -5.57%"