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Quote of the Day

“I went down to the street and found the financial district so quiet it seemed like a ghost town. Many brokerage firms had closed down; the rest functioned with skeleton staffs. Just before the opening bell at 10am I entered the board room of one of the leading firms founded by members of one of America’s ‘Sixty Families’. A younger scion of that family, whom I had known for some years, was now managing partner of the firm. He greeted me good-humoredly as an ‘early bird’. In a spacious room that could have held a hundred or more persons, I saw only two or three gloomy customers, who watched the opening in silence. I had brought with me some government bonds…and asked the broker to sell…The broker looked at me as if I were quite a brave fellow.”

-Matthew Josephson on the re-opening of the New York Stock Exchange on March 15, 1933. (Source: Eyewitness to Wall Street)

March 15th – This Day in Stock Market History

March 15th, 1933 – The New York Stock Exchange reopens after being closed since March 3rd.

The reopening of trading releases pent up demand after the initial panic from the banking holiday subsided.

FDR and the government used unprecedented steps to help keep the US economy, and banking system in particular, from collapse.

For a few examples, see our ‘This Day in Stock Market History’ pages:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed up 15.34%, still standing as the largest 1-day percentage gain in stock market history.

New York Times Coverage of the best day in stock market history
New York Times Coverage of the best day in stock market history

Today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average around 32,000, this would be equivalent of a 4,900 point rise!

This rally would continue and produce the best annual return in the Dow Jones Industrial Average history of 53.97%.

Chart from macrotrends
Chart from macrotrends

Sources: Eyewitness to Wall Street, It Was a Very Good Year

March 15th, 1915 – The World War 1 bull market starts a major leg up. Over the course of the next 30 days, stocks rise 19%.

Source: Manias, Panics, Crashes

Best March 15th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History

1933 – Up 15.34%, or 8.26 points.

Worst March 15th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History

1939 – Down 2.28%, or 3.44 points

 <– Go To Previous Day: March 14th, 1907: Stocks fall 8.29% as the panic of 1907 nears

Go To Next Day: March 16th, 2009: Bear Stearns sold to JP Morgan for $2 a share –>