October 27, 2008
The market climbed most of the day, but failed to sustain the rally, so by late afternoon prices declined and closed in the red. Thus, the NASDAQ fell for the fifth day in a row, while the DJIA and the S&P500 had their second successive loss.
There have been just 14 such days since 1971, and todays is the third repeat since June 2001. Moreover, all of these occurred during periods of substantial decline, and furthermore, the subsequent rise in prices was far from near.
In downturns as widespread as this one, the past has little to offer in terms of short term forecasts. The one lesson the 1929 disaster offers, is that prices will recover over the long term. But how long long is, is hard to ascertain.
DJIA -2.42 percent
NASDAQ -2.97 percent
S&P500 -3.18 percent