Stock Market History, From the 1929 Crash Forward

                                                                                                Wed., July 8th, 2026

Ninety-four years ago today, something noteworthy occurred in the stock market. It stopped declining! The 1929 stock market crash in October that year started a long slide in stock prices, chiefly due to the lax regulations on trading, and the ill-timed responses from the Government, under President Herbert Hoover.

But the "crash" of 1929 and the ensuing bear market was not over quickly; it lingered on into 1930,1931, and 1932. Franklin Roosevelt took over as President in 1933 after being elected in 1932. He championed various social and work programs to get America back on its feet. Unemployment peaked at 25% in 1933. . The stock market fell 89% in 34 months, ending July 8, 1932 at Dow Jones 41.22..

Many investors were wiped out due to buying stocks with borrowed money, speculating, and unable to repay. But those who held on were rewarded as stocks rebounded almost 5 fold in the next 4-1/2 years to Dow Jones 194. It would be 1949 before Dow 200 would be broken on the upside again. Here's a snippet below from my 100-year wall chart below with the two yellow circles showing the Dow 380 high, and the 41.22 low.

The market 'tripled' in the next 12 years, 1949-1961, before settling in for a long 16 year consolidation or rest, where it would not trade much below 600 or above 1,000 That was 1966 -1982.

The stock market finally breached 1,000 decisively in late 1982, and never looked back from that level.

My father started managing money in early 1973 at age 39, and I joined him in August, 1982 at Dow Jones 777.

There are decades where stock price have not beat inflation: the 1970's, and the 2000-2009 period, the latter of which lost 1% per year on the S&P500.
  

The run from 2010 to current day is a +335% gain, from Dow Jones 11,000 to 48,000 by the end of 2025. Just two years were losers; 2018 and 2022.

So what's the lesson from all this history. Well, expect bear markets, expect sideways markets  and diversify into bonds and some gold and non-correlated investments. Some of this is just luck; like when you were born, or when you start to invest. Be patient.

The stock market rises an 'average' of 10% per year, but as you can see, that path can be laden with set-backs and false starts along the way. Thanks for reading!