The Dow gained 3,472.56 points during 2013, higher than any prior year on record. Kimberly Amadeo has 20 years of experience in economic analysis and business strategy. Join MasterFunders today and start your trading career with real backing. Since the Dow tracks just 30 large-cap U.S. companies, some critics argue that it is too narrow to represent the state of the overall U.S. economy.
- While there are always pullbacks, the Dow has set new records after every major correction for over 100 years.
- The Dow climbed above 38,000 in January 2024 and reached 40,000 by May.
- On Oct. 9, 2007, the Dow hit a pre-recession high, closing at 14,164.53 despite growing concerns around the subprime mortgage crisis.
- The Dow hit one milestone and had 26 closing records in 2016.
- The records set in the fall were the first ones since the Dow reached 26,616.71 on Jan. 26, 2018.
As of August 2025, the Dow is up +9.5% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 has gained +13.2% and the Nasdaq +15.4%. Tech-heavy Nasdaq leads global markets thanks to strong performance in AI and semiconductor stocks. The Dow’s new record above 45,600 in August 2025 comes from a mix of strong earnings, cooling inflation, and investor optimism about future Fed policy. The Dow rises 19.2% during a post-war recession thanks to strong business spending, even after a decrease in government wartime spending.
Economic & Market Factors Behind the 2024–2025 Dow Highs
The chart below shows four of those closing records, as they increase by the thousand. That correction was more than 16% lower than its all-time high set in May of the same year, putting the index into a correction but not a bear market. Investors worried that China’s yuan devaluation and the uncertainty over the Fed’s rate increase would push the index further downward.
Record Highs Set in 2013
- The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments.
- It then falls on March 7, 2000, rebounds to 11,124.83 on April 25, and falls again to 9,973.46 by March 14, 2001, beginning the 2001 recession.
- This was less than the 90% drop during the Great Depression.
- The close was just shy of a previous record close of 40,003 set on May 17.
Before that, it took more than 24 years for the index to double from 625 in the spring of 1959 to September 1983. It beat its January high, rising to 9,093.24 by the close of the day. The Senate reintroduced the bailout as the Troubled Asset Relief Program on Oct. 3. To account for stock splits and changes in the lineup, the Dow uses a special number called the index divisor. This lets the index stay consistent even as companies come and go. The highest closing value ever for the Dow is 45,631.74, set on August 22, 2025.
What’s the highest the Dow has reached in a single day?
The previous high was recorded just a day prior, when the index ended the trading day at 36,585.06. While short-term pullbacks are always possible, history shows the Dow has reached new highs after every major correction. With inflation cooling and the Fed signaling possible rate cuts, analysts expect more record-setting moves through late 2025.
In fact, there are plenty of strategies for weathering the stock market’s highs and lows, including prioritizing time in the market over timing the market prioritizing time in the market over timing the market. Titan helps you take advantage of both of these strategies by providing you with a diversified portfolio that enables healthy investing habits. Learn more about how to invest despite the market’s dips by downloading Titan’s app today. Through much of 2022 and 2023, investors were cautious and bearish about equity markets as inflation rocketed.
What 30 stocks are in the Dow Jones industrial average
For active traders, record-breaking markets are full of opportunity. At MasterFunders, you can trade with firm capital instead of your own, scale accounts up to $1M+, and get payouts in as little as 7 days. Nvidia has recorded the biggest daily jump in market value in the history of Wall Street.
The following are some milestones achieved by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In parentheses, when helpful, we provide the Dow’s points as inflation-adjusted to Feb. 23, 2024, for a relative comparison to its record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, also known as the Dow or DJIA, tracks 30 large, well-known companies that trade on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.
Intraday highs show the peak value during the trading session, but the “record close” at 45,631.74 on August 22 is the official all-time high most investors track. The Dow Jones stock market index (also known as the Dow or DIJA) tracks 30 large, blue-chip companies on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. After the Dow Jones Transportation Index, it is the second oldest U.S. stock market index still in use.
The 12.4% loss on the Nikkei, which closed at 31,458.42, was the worst day for the index since the “Black Monday” of 1987 hit Wall Street. The loss of 4,451.28 points on the index was also the largest in terms of points in its entire history. The Dow lost more than 22% in a single day on Black Monday. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice.
While it wasn’t as dramatic as the Great Depression, the drop happened much more quickly. After recovering from its Great Depression level, the Dow continued to be affected by several recessionary periods and crises leading up to the 2009 downturn. The index closed above 23,000 on Oct. 18, 2017; slightly more than a month later, it broke 24,000.
A Brief History of the Dow
Bureau of Labor’s CPI since this Asian stock futures gives the relative change over time. The Dow tracks 30 large, publicly owned blue-chip companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The selection is not based on strict quantitative criteria but rather on the decisions of the editors of the Wall Street Journal. Companies are chosen based on their reputation, growth, and relevance to the economy, with the aim of reflecting the overall health and trends of the industrial sector of the U.S. economy. Uncertainty had been hanging over the markets because of the unprecedented refusal of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, to concede the election to President-elect Biden. When Trump began the transition process late in November, 2020, stocks roared back.
Record Highs Set in 2021
On Feb. 8, it entered a market correction when it fell 1,032.89 points to 23,860.46. The one before that came on the final trading day of 2021, when Dow closed at 36,488.63 on Dec. 29, 2021, smashing the record it set on Nov. 8, 2021. The Dow witnessed a sharp decline in the end of November over fears of inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic, before resuming its quest to break more all-time high milestones. The Dow’s history underscores the inevitable volatility of the stock market. But just because the stock market is volatile doesn’t mean you should shy away from investing in it.