The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is trading at an all-time high as of Feb. 14, 2020. The DJIA trades at 29,398. The DJIA tracks 30 well-known and large companies that trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ. Rate cuts in 2019 and pending trade wars in early 2020 have helped boost the index. The DJIA has been in a bull market since 2009. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The DJIA is currently trading at all-time highs, hitting 29,398 on Feb. 14, 2020. 
  • The biggest loss suffered by the DJIA was during the Great Depression, when it lost 90% of its value. 
  • However, its largest single-day drop happened during the Great Recession of 2008. 
  • The DJIA is in the longest bull market in history, ongoing since 2009. 

DJIA Consistently Hitting New Highs 

The DJIA has consistently hit new highs over the last decade or so. In fact, the DJIA has been in a bull market since March 11, 2009. This has become the longest-running bull market in history and it’s still going. 
The DJIA hit several new highs in 2019, in part thanks to trade talks with China. The index hit 22 record closes in 2019. The DJIA has a storied history, introduced in its initial form in 1885. During the Great Depression, the Dow fell 90% in four years, hitting 41.22 in 1932. The DJIA lost 26.5% during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. 
The 2008 Great Recession was the worst ever for the DJIA. The market fell over 50% in just a year-and-a-half, granted, not as bad as the 90% fall during the Great Depression. Yet, the largest single-day drop happened during 2008. On Sept. 29, 2008, the Dow fell over 777 points.