This Day In Market History: Nasdaq Hits 2,000

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened? On July 16, 1998, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 2,000 for the first time.

Where The Market Was: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day at 9,328.19 and the S&P 500 traded at 1,183.99.

What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1998, France hosted and won the FIFA World Cup. The U.S. redesigned its $20 bills to make them more difficult to counterfeit. Average annual U.S. income was $38,100.

Nasdaq Milestone: Almost exactly three years after closing above 1,000 for the first time on July 17, 1995, The Nasdaq Composite eclipsed the 2,000 mark for the first time on July 16, 1998. The surge in tech stocks driven by the dot-com bubble generated major returns for Nasdaq investors in the late 1990s, and the 2,000 mark was nowhere near the peak.

The Nasdaq had doubled again before the end of 1999, reaching 4,000 for the first time on December 29. Within three months, the Nasdaq reached 5,000 and hit its dot-com bubble peak of 5,132.52 in early 2000. The party didn’t last for long, however. The bursting of the bubble sent the Nasdaq tumbling back to as low as 1,108.49 by mid-2002.

Today, the Nasdaq sits around 14,500.

Photo: bfishadow, Flickr