There’s been a tremendous amount of handwringing and angst among the media and some self-anointed economic gurus about the stock market of late. And it’s reminiscent of the European folk tale “Chicken Little” about a chicken who is convinced the sky is falling after an acorn falls on his head.

The “sky is falling” headlines and talking heads shriek about “Sell off on Wall Street!” and, of course, “The Dow plunged today!” whenever it drops 300, 400, even 700 points in a day. Note that in a 40,000 plus Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) market, these drops are acorns. And of course, the pundits must segue into and pontificate about “Recession!”

Briefly, a stock market sell-off is a sudden, widespread drop in stock prices driven by a surge in selling activity. While sell-offs can signal short-term uncertainty, they don’t always indicate a long-term trend but only present buying opportunities for investors.

The DJIA, however, stands above 40,000, not 10,000, so spare the dramatics. But the dramatics are necessary to hype it up to blame President Donald J. Trump.

A bit of perspective of recent stock market history might be in order.

Yes, between January 1, 2025, and March 11, 2025, the DJIA has experienced a decline. On January 1, 2025, the DJIA closed at 44,544.66. By March 11, 2025, it had decreased to 41,433.48, reflecting a three-month drop of approximately 3,111 points or about 7%. Yet, the average closing price for the DJIA during this timeframe was approximately 43,740.08, indicating an increase of 0.3% for the year.

This is a far cry from what a real market selloff or plunge is.

One of the most infamous recent stock market crashes occurred on October 19, 1987, known as “Black Monday,” when the DJIA plummeted by 22.6%, the largest single-day percentage drop in its history. The index fell from 2,246.74 to 1,738.74, a loss of 508 points. Now that’s a real plummet. Yet the economy did not enter a recession, and the market rebounded relatively quickly.

Another dramatic drop took place on October 28, 1997, during the Asian financial crisis. The DJIA dropped by 7.18%, falling 554 points from 7,539.07 to 6,985.06. Again, and although unsettling, this drop did not trigger a U.S. recession.

Then there was the dot-com bubble in April of 2000 when the DJIA fell 5.66%, shedding 617.78 points from 10,305.77 to 9,687.99. This period of market decline extended over
several years, leading to a mild recession from March to November 2001. This is very different from today’s conditions.

The financial crisis of 2008 brought about several record-setting declines. On September 29, 2008, the DJIA plunged 777.68 points, a 6.98% drop, falling from 11,143.13 to 10,365.45. Soon after, on October 15, 2008, the market fell another 7.87%, shedding 733.08 points. And this led to the Great Recession. Again: a real plunge.

But most dramatically, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on all global markets, not just the United States. On March 16, 2020, the DJIA fell 2,997.10 points — a staggering 12.93% decline — dropping from 23,185.62 to 20,188.52. Though the economy experienced a sharp contraction, the ensuing recession was short-lived, lasting only two months from February to April 2020.

Give a shout out to then (and now) President Trump for engineering that miraculous turn around.

These are examples of real plunges and selloffs. And this is clearly not what is evidenced today.

As Mr. Trump and his administration, less than three months in power, grapple with the economic, trade, and foreign affairs mismanagement by the Biden/Harris socialist Democrat administration, by righting the wrongs with our trading partners and ending the wars that erupted by their political and governance malpractice, challenges will be presented.

But the sky is not falling. And don’t believe everything you are told.

Gary Wisenbaker is a REALTOR© with Century 21 Realty Advisors and can be reached at gary50155@gmail.com and (912) 713-2553.