History of Stock market in Timeline

The stock market is a platform where buyers and sellers trade stocks, representing ownership in companies. This includes publicly listed securities and privately traded shares. Investments are typically guided by a specific investment strategy.

October 24, 1929: Black Thursday Start

The stock market crash started on October 24, 1929, known as Black Thursday, and led to the Great Depression, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 50% of its value.

1929: Regulation of Margin Requirements After 1929 Crash

Regulation of margin requirements by the Federal Reserve was implemented after the Crash of 1929, before which speculators only needed to put up as little as 10 percent of the total investment represented by the stocks purchased.

1929: Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 is one of the most famous stock market crashes.

1929: Black Monday and Black Tuesday

The names "Black Monday" and "Black Tuesday" are also used for October 28–29, 1929, which followed Terrible Thursday—the starting day of the stock market crash in 1929.

1960: Worker to Beneficiary Ratio in 1960

In 1960, the Worker to Beneficiary ratio was 5:1.

1973: Stock Market Crash of 1973–4

The stock market crash of 1973–4 resulted in loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction.

1980: Market Capitalization in 1980

In 1980, the total market capitalization of publicly traded stocks worldwide was US$2.5 trillion.

1986: CATS Trading System Introduced

In 1986, the CATS trading system was introduced at the Paris Bourse, fully automating the order matching system.

October 19, 1987: Black Monday

On October 19, 1987, another famous crash took place. It was called Black Monday. The crash began in Hong Kong and quickly spread around the world.

1987: Aftermath of the 1987 Crash

Following the stock market crash in 1987, questions were raised about assumptions of modern economics, trading was halted worldwide, and the SEC introduced new control measures in an attempt to prevent a re-occurrence of the events of Black Monday.

1987: Black Monday of 1987

The Black Monday of 1987 resulted in loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction.

1987: Stock Market Crash of 1987

The stock market crash in 1987, featured the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 22.6 percent—the largest-ever one-day fall in the United States.

1992: Stock Ownership in 1992

In 1992, direct stock ownership by individuals was at 17.8%, while indirect participation in retirement accounts was at 39.3%.

2000: Dot-com Bubble of 2000

The Dot-com bubble of 2000 resulted in loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction.

2003: Vissing-Jørgensen Paper in 2003

In a 2003 paper by Vissing-Jørgensen, the research concludes that a fixed cost of $200 per year is sufficient to explain why nearly half of all U.S. households do not participate in the market.

October 2007: Beginning of the Great Recession

Beginning in October 2007, financial markets experienced one of the sharpest declines in decades, marking the start of the Great Recession, with the S&P 500 falling 57% by March 2009.

2007: Stock Holdings in 2007

As of 2007, the median value of directly owned stock in the bottom quintile of income was $4,000, and $78,600 in the top decile. The median value of indirectly held stock in retirement accounts for the same groups was $6,300 and $214,800 respectively.

2007: Beginning of Financial Crisis in 2007

Events such as the 2007-2008 financial crisis have prompted a heightened degree of scrutiny of the impact of the structure of stock markets (called market microstructure), in particular to the stability of the financial system and the transmission of systemic risk.

2008: Financial Crisis of 2008

2008: Great Recession of 2008

Since the Great Recession of 2008 households in the bottom half of the income distribution have lessened their participation rate both directly and indirectly.

2008: Stock Market Crash of 2008

The Stock Market Crash of 2008 resulted in loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction.

March 2009: S&P 500 Decline in March 2009

From October 2007 to March 2009, the S&P 500 fell 57% during the Great Recession.

2009: Worker to Beneficiary Ratio in 2009

In 2009, the Worker to Beneficiary ratio was 3:1.

2011: Stock Market Ownership by Race in 2011

In 2011, the direct participation rate was 24.5% for white households, 6.4% for black households, and 4.3% for Hispanic households. Indirect participation was 46.4% for white households, 31.7% for black households, and 25.8% for Hispanic households.

February 2012: Single-Stock Circuit Breakers Introduced in Canada

In February 2012, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) introduced single-stock circuit breakers.

2012: S&P 500 Average Annual Return 2012-2021

From 2012–2021, the S&P 500 index had an average annual return of 14.8%.

2012: Role of Stock Markets in 2012

In 2012, it was noted that stock markets play an essential role in growing industries that ultimately affect the economy through transferring available funds from units that have excess funds (savings) to those who are suffering from funds deficit (borrowings).

April 2013: S&P 500 Recovery in April 2013

In April 2013, the S&P 500 recovered to its 2007 levels after the Great Recession.

2013: Stock Holdings in 2013

In 2013, households in the bottom half of the income distribution lessened their participation rate both directly and indirectly from 53.2% in 2007 to 48.8%, while over the same period households in the top decile of the income distribution slightly increased participation 91.7% to 92.1%.

2016: Stock Exchanges in 2016

As of 2016, there were 60 stock exchanges worldwide, with 16 having a market capitalization of $1 trillion or more, accounting for 87% of global market capitalization; these exchanges were primarily in North America, Europe, or Asia, excluding the Australian Securities Exchange.

February 2020: Beginning of the 2020 Stock Market Crash

The 2020 stock market crash, a major and sudden global event, began on 20 February 2020 due to the sudden outbreak of the global pandemic, COVID-19.

2021: S&P 500 Average Annual Return 2012-2021

From 2012–2021, the S&P 500 index had an average annual return of 14.8%.

2021: World Stock Markets Increase in Value in 2021

In 2021, the value of world stock markets increased by 26.5%, amounting to US$22.3 trillion, with developing economies contributing US$9.9 trillion and developed economies US$12.4 trillion; Asia and Oceania accounted for 45%, Europe had 37%, and America had 16%, while Africa had 2% of the global market.

January 2022: Largest Stock Markets in January 2022

As of January 2022, the largest stock markets by country were the United States of America (59.9%), followed by Japan (6.2%) and the United Kingdom (3.9%).