# Dow below 10k. What does this mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673 "2008-10-06T14:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/21 "2008-10-06T20:16:44Z")
Did you not read my post? I said that the DJIA started in the late 1800s and that it was 381 at the start of the crash. As for the low: > [@](#): > > The crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression returned the average to its starting point, almost 90% below its peak, by July 8, 1932, at its intra-day low of 40.56; closing at 41.22. The high of 381.17 on September 3, 1929, would not be surpassed until 1954, in inflation-adjusted numbers. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/22 "2008-10-06T20:26:07Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Was there a Dow Jones Industrial Average at the time of the 1929 crash, and if so, what was it before and after the crash? Yup. It fell from 381 (as noted by **Exapno Mapcase** above) to 195 in November 1929. It rallied slightly in 1930, but then dove as low as 40 in 1932. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/23 "2008-10-07T03:12:03Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Was there a Dow Jones Industrial Average at the time of the 1929 crash, and if so, what was it before and after the crash? Adding to what **Exapno Mapcase** and **MikeS** were saying … check out [this chart](http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html) that **ChefGuy** linked to earlier. If you go back to 1920-1940, you can see how the market plunged during the Depression. It’s kind of cool to see how it moves through the decades. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/24 "2008-10-07T11:56:23Z")
My quick and dumb question - is the DJIA “linear” - i.e., if it’s fallen by almost 30% since its high of 14,000 last October, does that mean that the share value of the companies that make up the index has, on average, fallen by almost 30%? Or is it more complicated than that? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/25 "2008-10-07T13:12:41Z")
It’s a bit more complicated. [Dow Jones Averages Methodology](http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/index.cfm?event=showAvgMethod) At the same time, it’s probably not a bad first order approximation. The DJIA going down by 30% doesn’t give you exact information about any of the stocks, but you’re not going to be wildly off by assuming that on average their stock prices are down by about 30%. You just need to remember that the DJIA is a trend indicator more than an establisher of value. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/26 "2008-10-07T14:10:36Z")
It’s much more meaningful to look at percentage gains and losses than absolute numbers. So during the Depression, the Dow declined by almost 90%. That’s huge. But if it’s at 10,000 and then it drops 700 points, that’s a 7% drop. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673/27 "2008-10-07T14:18:32Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > If that’s the lowest you’ve ever seen it, you’re pretty young. I actually remember the first time it hit \*\*\*one \*\*\*thousand! (Wish I had bought some stock then.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dow-below-10k-what-does-this-mean/466673.md?page=1)