Market History Since 1896

Daily closing prices for the Dow Jones since 1896, gold and silver 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 12.7 ounces of gold; in January 1980 it bought about one. 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 19, 2026 · Dow Jones, gold, silver, S&P 500, Nasdaq, Russell 2000, Nikkei 225, oil, 10-year yield

Price on a date

Any date since 26 May 1896 (Dow Jones). Weekends and holidays show the previous close.

Ratios worth knowing

Dow/gold ratio since 1896 — how many ounces of gold the Dow buys; famous for its swings between about 1 and 40.

S&P 500 ÷ gold · Gold ÷ silver since 1968 · Gold ÷ oil (barrels per ounce) · Nasdaq ÷ Dow

Famous periods

1929 crash & Great Depression World War II 1970s: end of Bretton Woods, inflation 1982–2000 bull market Black Monday 1987 Dot-com bubble & bust 2008 financial crisis 2020 pandemic crash

All Series

Each has its own page with records, bear markets, best and worst years and a year-by-year table.

Dow Jones · since 1896 Dow Jones Industrial Average 51,966 on Oct 19, 2026 S&P 500 · since 1950 S&P 500 7,691 on Oct 19, 2026 Nasdaq · since 1971 Nasdaq Composite 26,431 on Oct 19, 2026 Russell 2000 · since 1987 Russell 2000 2,728 on Oct 19, 2026 Nikkei 225 · since 1984 Nikkei 225 64,917 on Oct 19, 2026 Gold · 1968 (official price from 1896) Gold $4,160.10 on Oct 19, 2026 Silver · since 1968 Silver $56.97 on Oct 19, 2026 WTI oil · since 1986 WTI crude oil $103.66 on Oct 19, 2026 Brent oil · since 1987 Brent crude oil $109.55 on Oct 19, 2026 10Y yield · since 1962 US 10-year Treasury yield 5.14% on Oct 19, 2026

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 Dow/gold ratio?

The Dow Jones index divided by the gold price — how many ounces of gold one "unit" of the Dow buys. It peaked around 1929, 1966 and 1999 and bottomed in 1932 and 1980. See the Dow/gold ratio page for its full history.

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.