History of Stock market in Timeline

The stock market is where buyers and sellers trade stocks, representing ownership in businesses. This includes publicly listed securities and privately traded shares. Investments are typically made with a specific investment strategy in mind to achieve financial goals. It is a crucial part of the economy, enabling companies to raise capital and investors to grow their wealth.

October 24, 1929: Black Thursday

The stock market crash started on October 24, 1929, on Black Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 50% during this stock market crash, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.

1929: Stock markets fall

By the end of October, stock markets in Hong Kong had fallen 45.5%, Australia 41.8%, Spain 31%, the United Kingdom 26.4%, the United States 22.68%, and Canada 22.5%. Black Monday itself was the largest one-day percentage decline in stock market history – the Dow Jones fell by 22.6% in a day. 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.

1929: Regulation of margin requirements

Regulation of margin requirements (by the Federal Reserve) was implemented after the Crash of 1929.

1929: Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929, ended in the loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale.

1960: Macroeconomic trends

Economic and financial theories argue that stock prices are affected by macroeconomic trends, such as changes in GDP, unemployment rates, and national income in 1960.

1973: Stock market crash of 1973-4

The stock market crash of 1973–4 ended in the loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale.

1980: Market capitalization at US$2.5 trillion

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

1986: Introduction of CATS trading system

In 1986, the Paris Bourse, which is now part of Euronext, introduced the CATS trading system, leading to full automation of the order matching system.

October 19, 1987: Black Monday

Another famous crash took place on October 19, 1987 – Black Monday. The crash began in Hong Kong and quickly spread around the world.

1987: Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 22.6 percent

The 'hard' efficient-market hypothesis does not explain the cause of events such as the crash in 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 22.6 percent—the largest-ever one-day fall in the United States.

1987: Black Monday of 1987

The Black Monday of 1987 ended in the loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale.

1987: Questions about modern economics

The crash in 1987 raised some puzzles – main news and events did not predict the catastrophe and visible reasons for the collapse were not identified. This event raised questions about many important assumptions of modern economics, namely, the theory of rational human conduct, the theory of market equilibrium and the efficient-market hypothesis.

1992: Direct ownership of stock by individuals

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

2000: Dot-com bubble of 2000

The Dot-com bubble of 2000 ended in the loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale.

2003: Vissing-Jørgensen's paper on participation rates

In a 2003 paper by Vissing-Jørgensen, disproportionate rates of participation along wealth and income groups are explained as a function of fixed costs associated with investing.

2006: Murray Rothbard's Making Economic Sense

Murray Rothbard published "Making Economic Sense" in 2006.

October 2007: The Great Recession

Starting in October 2007 and lasting through 2009, financial markets experienced one of the sharpest declines in decades. It was more widespread than just the stock market as well.

2007: Stock ownership across income strata

As of 2007, stock ownership and value of holdings showed significant differences across income levels, with the top decile having far greater participation and value compared to the bottom quintile.

2007: Direct ownership of stock by individuals rose slightly to 17.9%

In 2007, direct ownership of stock by individuals rose slightly to 17.9%, with the median value of these holdings rising from $14,778 to $17,000. Indirect participation in the form of retirement accounts rose to 52.6%, with the median value of these accounts more than doubling from $22,000 to $45,000 in that time.

2008: Increased scrutiny of stock market structure

Events such as the 2008 financial crisis prompted increased scrutiny of the stock market structure's impact on financial system stability and systemic risk transmission.

2008: The 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 from 53.2% in 2007 to 48.8% in 2013, while over the same period households in the top decile of the income distribution slightly increased participation 91.7% to 92.1%.

2008: Stock Market Crash of 2008

The Stock Market Crash of 2008 ended in the loss of billions of dollars and wealth destruction on a massive scale.

March 2009: The Great Recession S&P 500 fell 57%

Starting in 2007 and lasting through March 2009, financial markets experienced one of the sharpest declines in decades. From October 2007 to March 2009, the S&P 500 fell 57%.

2009: Macroeconomic trends

Economic and financial theories argue that stock prices are affected by macroeconomic trends, such as changes in GDP, unemployment rates, and national income in 2009.

2011: Racial composition of stock market ownership

In 2011, stock market ownership by race showed significant disparities, with white households being much more likely to directly own stocks compared to black and Hispanic households.

February 2012: Introduction of single-stock circuit breakers in Canada

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

2012: S&P 500 index average annual return

From 2012 to 2021, the S&P 500 index had an average annual return of 14.8%, although individual annual returns varied greatly.

2012: Padhi and Naik capital markets role

Padhi and Naik stated in 2012, 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 recovered to its 2007 levels

From October 2007 to March 2009, the S&P 500 fell 57% and wouldn't recover to its 2007 levels until April 2013.

2013: Stock ownership across income strata

As of 2013, stock ownership and value of holdings showed significant differences across income levels, with the top decile having far greater participation and value compared to the bottom quintile.

2016: Global stock exchanges

As of 2016, there were 60 stock exchanges globally, with 16 having a market capitalization of $1 trillion or more, accounting for 87% of the world's total.

February 20, 2020: 2020 stock market crash

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

2021: S&P 500 index average annual return

From 2012 to 2021, the S&P 500 index had an average annual return of 14.8%, although individual annual returns varied greatly.

2021: World stock markets experience an increase of 26.5%

In 2021, the value of world stock markets experienced an increase of 26.5%, amounting to US$22.3 trillion. Developing economies contributed US$9.9 trillion and developed economies US$12.4 trillion.

January 2022: Largest stock markets by country

As of January 2022, the United States of America held the largest stock market share at approximately 59.9%, followed by Japan at about 6.2% and the United Kingdom at approximately 3.9%.

2023: Market capitalization reaches US$111 trillion

By the end of 2023, the total market capitalization of all publicly traded stocks worldwide had risen to US$111 trillion.

2030: Macroeconomic trends

Economic and financial theories argue that stock prices are affected by macroeconomic trends, such as changes in GDP, unemployment rates, and national income in 2030.