3 Charts That Explain the Stock Market's Huge Drop
- There Are Now More Crypto Coins Than U.S Stocks
- The Best Time to Buy Bitcoin, Explained in One Chart
- This Two-Minute Viral Video Proves It's Impossible to Time the Stock Market
- AMC, GameStop and Hertz: What's Causing the Latest Meme Stock Swings?
- 5 Signs Investors Are Dangerously Overconfident Right Now
Money is not a client of any investment adviser featured on this page. The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Money does not offer advisory services.
On Monday, the stock market entered what Wall Street pros term a “correction,” a decline of 10% or more from the market’s previous peak, which occurred in May. No one likes to see their portfolio knocked down a peg, but it’s not the end of the world.
Here are some stats to put recent event into context, and perhaps help you relax a little.
It's been a surprisingly long time since stocks fell by this much.
The last time the market dropped at least 10% was in October 2011. That's one of the longest stretches of uninterrupted growth since World War II. So you might say we were due; typically, there's a market correction every 18 months.
Most 10% drops don't lead to bear markets.
Most of the 30-odd corrections the market has endured since 1946 didn't deteriorate into a bear market, defined as a decline of 20% or more from the previous peak.
Just holding on usually solves the problem.
Usually, but not always, investors who waited out a correction found themselves quickly back in the black.
Read next: Why Bonds Soared After Monday's Stock Market Crash