Market History Since 1896
Daily closing prices for the Dow Jones since 1896, silver and gold since 1968 (gold's official price before that), the S&P 500 since 1950 (monthly since 1871), the Nasdaq, Russell 2000, Nikkei 225, oil and the 10-year Treasury yield. Today the Dow buys 976 ounces of silver; at silver's peak in January 1980 it bought about 18. Chart any of them over any period, in today's dollars or as a ratio, and look up the price on any date.
Daily data to October 22, 2026 · Dow Jones, gold, silver, S&P 500, Nasdaq, Russell 2000, Nikkei 225, oil, 10-year yield
Long-term chart builder
Price on a date
Any date since 26 May 1896 (Dow Jones). Weekends and holidays show the previous close.
Ratios worth knowing
Gold/silver ratio since 1968 — how many ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys, with its record highs and lows and every turning point.
Dow ÷ silver · Dow ÷ gold · S&P 500 ÷ silver · Silver ÷ oil · Nasdaq ÷ Dow
Famous periods
1929 crash & Great DepressionWorld War II1970s: end of Bretton Woods, inflation1982–2000 bull marketBlack Monday 1987Dot-com bubble & bust2008 financial crisis2020 pandemic crash
Markets Year by Year
Every year since 1896 with its key events: what happened, and how the Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq, gold, silver, oil and bond yields reacted.
Famous years
Dow 1914: the NYSE closes for four monthsDow 1929: the crashDow 1987: Black MondayGold 1980: the $850 peak10-year yield 1981: the 15.8% peakNasdaq 2000: the dot-com bustS&P 500 2008: the financial crisisOil 2008: $145, then $34S&P 500 2020: the COVID crash
By decade
2020s2010s2000s1990s1980s1970s1960s1950s1940s1930s1920s1910s1900s1890s
All Series
Each has its own page with records, bear markets, best and worst years and a year-by-year table.
Market History FAQ
How far back does the data go?
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 26 May 1896. S&P 500: daily since 1950, and Robert Shiller's monthly S&P Composite since 1871. Gold and silver market prices: 1968 (before that gold had an official fixed price). Nasdaq Composite: 1971. Russell 2000: 1987. Nikkei 225: 1984. Oil: 1986–87. 10-year Treasury yield: 1962.
What is the gold/silver ratio?
The gold price divided by the silver price — how many ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys. Since 1968 it has swung between the mid-teens and well over 100. See the gold/silver ratio history page for its records and turning points, or chart the Dow/silver or Dow/gold ratio with the chart builder above.
Are the returns adjusted for dividends?
No. Index figures are price indices only. Dividends have added several percentage points a year to stock returns over the long run, which these charts do not include.
How are prices adjusted for inflation?
With the US consumer price index (CPI-U from 1913, Robert Shiller's CPI series before that): each price × latest CPI ÷ CPI of that month.
Historical prices are provided for information and may contain errors. Index values are the property of their publishers and are shown for reference only. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.