Chart of the Day

The stock market continues in its highly volatile ways with the Dow trading down 5.5% on the day. For some perspective on the current correction, today's chart illustrates all major stock market corrections (15% loss or greater) of the last 108 years. Each dot represents a major correction as measured by the Dow. For example, the bear market that began in 1973 lasted 481 trading days and ended after the Dow declined 45%. Since 1900, the Dow has undergone a major correction 26 times or one major correction every 4.2 years. As it stands right now, the current stock market correction (October 2007 peak to most recent low which occurred today) would measure slightly below average in duration but above average in magnitude. In fact, of the 26 major stock market correction since 1900, the current stock market correction currently ranks as the fourth largest in magnitude (only the corrections beginning in 1906, 1929, and 1937 were greater) and is the most severe stock market correction of the post-World War II era.

Source - Dow Jones