The Dow’s 5 best and worst days

Here are the five biggest single-day gains and losses in the Dow Jones industrial average’s history, according to the Wall Street Journal.

5 Seconds

00:00

Fifth Best Day: March 23, 2009

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange when the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its fifth largest single-day point gain.The Treasury's plan to to help banks remove toxic assets from their balance sheets sparked a huge rally and investors welcomed better-than-expected news on existing home sales. The Dow gained 497.48 points that day.

Seth Wenig / AP

Fourth Best Day: March 16, 2000

Traders on Wall Street in New York applaud at the end of the trading day on the Dow's fourth best day ever. The rally sent the index soaring 499.19 points.

Chris Hondros / Getty Images

Third Best Day: Nov. 13, 2008

Traders crowd the post of Hercules Inc. at the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow saw a late-day rally after stocks were either in the red or flat for most of the day. A rebound was in part triggered by automated buy orders as the Dow approached a low for the year. The index gained 552.59 points, the third largest point jump in the Dow's history.

Richard Drew / AP

Second Best Day: Oct. 28, 2008

Wall Street broker Salvatore A. Suarino works the phones on the day the Dow had its second-largest point gain. Markets surged as credit started to thaw and the Fed's debt-buying program gained traction. The Dow closed up 889.35 points.

David Karp / AP

Best Day: Oct. 13, 2008

Traders including John Strazza, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the Dow's best day ever. Stocks rallied worldwide, and oil climbed from a 13-month low after governments in Europe, the U.S. and Asia agreed to support banks. The Dow gained 936.42 points.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg

Fifth Worst Day: Oct. 9, 2008

On the fifth worst day for the Dow, the index fell below 9000 for the first time since 2003 as higher borrowing costs and slower consumer spending spurred concern carmakers, insurers and energy companies will be the next victims of the credit crisis. The Dow fell 678.91 points.

Jin Lee / Bloomberg

Fourth Worst Day : Dec. 1, 2008

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the fourth worst day the Dow has seen. The index closed down nearly 680 points following negative economic reports. That day, the National Bureau of Economic Research said that the U.S. economy had been in a recession since December 2007.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Third Worst Day: Sept. 17, 2001

Fran Gleason, an options trader for Schwab, screams out a trade in the frenzied opening at the Chicago Board Options Exchange on the Dow's third worst day ever as it lost 684.81 points.

John Zich / Via Bloomberg

Second Worst Day: Oct. 15, 2008

A trader works near a monitor displaying trading activity on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks slumped on the Dow's second worst day ever as they were hammered by the biggest drop in retail sales in three years and doubt grew that plans to bail out banks will keep the nation out of a prolonged recession. The Dow closed down 733.08 points.

Jin Lee / Bloomberg

Worst Day: Sept. 29, 2008

The biggest one-day drop for the Dow occurred Sept. 29, 2008, after the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion plan to rescue the financial system. The index dropped 777.68 points.

Jin Lee / Bloomberg

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

TV presenter and conservationist Anneka Tanaka-Svenska wears a hat designed by Louis Mariette during the first day of Royal Ascot, in Berkshire, west of London, on June 18, 2013. The five-day meeting is one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. Horse racing has been held at the famous Berkshire course since 1711 and tradition is a hallmark of the meeting. Top hats and tails remain compulsory in parts of the course while a daily procession of horse-drawn carriages brings the Queen to the course. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNISADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Photos of the day

Royal Ascot, protests in Brazil, Lego exhibition, flooding in India, Cheetah-Cub robot and more.

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 18: Madonna attends the Dolce & Gabbana and The Cinema Society screening of the Epix World premiere of 'Madonna: The MDNA Tour' at The Paris Theatre on June 18, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Madonna, Michael Buble, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Chan, Jerry Seinfeld, Estelle and other celebrities.

Inmates walk at a high-security male prison camp outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk May 14, 2013. High-security male prison camp number 17 is intended to house male inmates who are serving a sentence for the first time, and have been convicted for serious crimes. Prisoners at the facility work in wood and metal processing shops, manufacture furniture, sew clothes and do other kinds of work. They can also take part in educational, sport and cultural programs. Picture taken May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 4 OF 29 FOR PACKAGE 'INSIDE SIBERIA'S PRISONS' SEARCH 'ILYA PRISON' FOR ALL IMAGES

Life in a Siberian prison

A look inside a high-security prison camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Father’s Day picnic in Northeast D.C.

A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

Back to Previous Gallery

Discussion Policy | FAQ | About Discussions

Comments

Add your comment

Read what others are saying About Badges

SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.

More about badges | Request a badge

Culture Connoisseur Badge

Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.

More about badges | Request a badge

Fact Checker Badge

Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.

More about badges | Request a badge

Washingtologist Badge

Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Writer Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.

Post Forum Badge

Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Weather Watcher Badge

Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.

More about badges | Request a badge

World Watcher Badge

World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Contributor Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Recommended

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

You must be logged in to report a comment.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

All comments are posted in the All Comments tab.

More about badges

Get a badge

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.