Nasdaq · November 15, 1991
The smaller names went first
-4.24%
single-day change vs previous close
What happened that day?
- On 15 November 1991 the Nasdaq fell 4.24%
- The trigger was the move in Congress to cap credit card rates, which would cut into bank earnings
- The Nasdaq fell harder because of company size. It holds more small firms, and they trade thinly
- When frightened money leaves, the biggest falls are not in what sells easily but in what has the least support underneath the price
- The index had already risen a great deal that year. There were that many gains to give back
- The bill never took effect and the index recovered quickly
- From the peak it was down 6.1%
Sources
Every figure on this page is recomputed from the original daily closing prices and checked against them at build time. The account of what happened is written from the sources listed above.