List of largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average


This is a list of the largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1896. Compare to the list of largest daily changes in the S&P 500 Index.

Largest percentage changes

Some sources show a loss of 24.39% on December 12, 1914, placing that day atop the list of largest percentage losses. The New York Stock Exchange reopened that day following a nearly four-and-a-half-month closure since July 30, 1914, and the Dow in fact rose several percent that day. However, the apparent decline was due to a later 1916 revision of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which retroactively adjusted the values following the closure but not those before, and it represents the only discontinuity in the index's history rather than an actual loss.

Largest point changes

The first four tables show only the largest one-day changes between a given day's close and the close of the previous trading day, not the largest changes during the trading day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published in 1896, but since the firms listed at that time were in existence before then, the index can be calculated going back to May 2, 1881. A loss of just over 24 percent on May 5, 1893 from 39.90 to 30.02 signaled the apex of the stock effects of the Panic of 1893; the 2008–09 crash was a 61.8 percent retracement thereof that began on October 11, 2007 and lasted until the closing low on March 9, 2009.

Largest intraday point swings

A point swing is the difference between the intraday high and the intraday low.
This is distinguished from an intraday point drop or gain, which is the difference between the opening price and the intraday low or high.
This table shows the largest intraday point swings since 1987. As the "Net Change" column shows, 10 of these 20 largest intraday swings occurred during days on which the Dow declined, and 10 occurred during days on which it advanced. None of the top 20 occurred before the year 2015.
During the 2020 stock market crash, fourteen of the top sixteen positions occurred in the month of March 2020.

RankDateCloseDay highDay lowPoint swingNet change
12020-03-1323,185.6223,189.7621,285.371,904.39+1,985.00
22020-03-1221,200.6222,837.9521,154.461,683.49−2,352.60
32020-03-1620,188.5221,768.2820,116.461,651.82−2,997.10
42018-02-0524,345.7525,520.5323,923.881,596.65−1,175.21
52020-03-1819,898.9220,489.3318,917.461,571.87−1,338.46
62020-03-1721,237.3821,379.3519,882.261,497.09+1,048.86
72020-03-2521,200.5522,019.9320,538.341,481.59+495.64
82020-03-2020,253.1520,531.2619,094.271,436.99−913.21
92020-03-0325,917.4127,084.5925,706.281,378.31−785.91
102020-03-1025,018.1625,020.9923,690.341,330.65+1,167.14
112020-03-0226,703.3226,706.1725,391.961,314.21+1,293.96
122020-03-0923,851.0224,992.3623,706.071,286.29−1,141.34
132020-03-1123,553.2224,604.6323,328.321,276.31−1,464.94
142020-03-1920,087.1920,442.6319,177.131,265.50+188.27
152020-06-1125,128.1726,294.0825,082.721,211.36−1,861.82
162020-03-2622,552.1722,595.0621,427.101,167.96+1,351.62
172018-02-0624,912.7724,946.2323,778.741,167.49+567.02
182018-12-2622,878.4522,878.9221,712.531,166.39+1,086.25
192020-02-2527,081.3628,149.2026,997.621,151.58−879.44
202020-04-0622,679.9922,783.4521,693.631,089.82+1,627.46

Largest intraday point changes


Largest intraday point changes with turnovers