Best years of DJIA index 2022 | Statista (2024)

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What is the best year for the Dow Jones? ›

The highest closing price for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) in a day all-time was $39,807.37, on March 28. It was up 0.1% for the day. The latest price is $38,249.66.

There have been ups and downs in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJIA). Some years brought as much as 30 percent of decrease in its value. Great Recession, however, took the largest toll on the Dow. In 1931, the index lost 52.67 percent of its value.

A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the closing bell on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 13, 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high above 37,000 on Wednesday, hitting a new 1,000-point milestone for the first time since Nov. 2, 2021, or more than 700 days.

The historical average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 12.68% over the last 10 years, as of the end of February 2024. This assumes dividends are reinvested. Adjusted for inflation, the 10-year average stock market return (including dividends) is 9.56%.

The 1987 stock market crash, or Black Monday, is known for being the largest single-day percentage decline in U.S. stock market history. On Oct. 19, the Dow fell 22.6 percent, a shocking drop of 508 points. The crash was somewhat of an isolated incident and didn't have anywhere near the impact that the 1929 crash did.

Some traders follow something called the "10 a.m. rule." The stock market opens for trading at 9:30 a.m., and the time between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. often has significant trading volume. Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour.

What are the best and worst months for the Dow Jones? ›

According to Reuters, since 1945, April and December are tied as the best-performing months of the year for stocks, with an average return of 1.6%. (September is notoriously the worst, with an average loss of -0.6%.)

Thursday was a pretty good day for Wall Street — the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closing in on the 40,000 threshold for the first time in its 128-year history as markets rallied to new highs.

But stock prices soared in 1995--arguably, the best year in history. A number of major money managers made switches out of equities into government bonds in early 1996--fearing high stock prices and a market sell off. But 1996 was again a strong year for most of the market.

And the shocking leader of the bunch? President Calvin Coolidge, who took office in 1923, whose stock price performance change was a whopping 208.52%, for an average monthly return of 1.74%. That's the largest for any president since the start of the 20th century.

The best day in the history of the index was October 6, 1931, when the index value increased by almost 15 percent - although it should be noted that this occured one day after the Dow Jones experienced its fourth-worst day of all time, dropping over 10.7 percent. The largest gain in points occurred on October 13, 2008.

Stocks gained on Monday, building on last week's gangbusters rally, with the Dow crossing the 38,000 mark for the first time ever. The Dow rose 138 points, or 0.4%, ending the day at 38,001.81. The S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%.

The Dow returned 268% over the last two decades, or 6.7% annually. Investors can tap into the index with the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF, though that index fund is unlikely to outperform the S&P 500 over long periods simply because the Dow prioritizes quality over growth.

In November 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbs to 1,000 units for the first time in its history, a milestone 76 years in the making. On November 14, 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) crossed the 1,000-point mark, 21,652 days after its inception on October 7, 1896.