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The Wall Street Journal notes that the S&P 500 is now half of its peak. This is the only the second time in history that has happen. The first time was the grandaddy -- 1929.

Bespoke writes:

Ultimately in the bear that started in 1929, the S&P 500 dropped a whopping 86.19% from its all-time high. This low occurred 679 trading days after the all-time high was reached, or about two years and nine months. The current decline has lasted one year and four months.

But by far the most depressing aspect of the 50%+ decline back in the 1930s was how long it took for the index to make a new all-time high. Following the peak in 1929, the S&P 500 went 6,251 trading days before hitting a new all-time high 25 years later.

I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of guy so can't we turn that around? If the market does fall by 86%, think of the buying opportunity!

Posted by edelfenbein at February 25, 2009 4:34 PM