This Day In Market History: Nasdaq 3,000

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

What Happened? On this day in 1999, the Nasdaq reached 3,000 for the first time.

Where The Market Was: The Dow finished the day at 10,609.06. The S&P 500 finished at 1,354.93.

What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1999, the European Union banned beef imported from the U.S. due to use of growth hormones. The global human population surpassed 6 billion. Average monthly rent was $645.

Nasdaq Hits 3,000: On Nov. 3, 1999, the Nasdaq closed at 3,028, surpassing 3,000 for the first time. At that time, the index had gained more than 300% over the previous four years.

Incredibly, the Nasdaq’s big dot com bubble run was far from over. A month later, the index was above 3,500. By the end of 1999, it had hit 4,000. In March 2000, the Nasdaq hit 5,000.

The Nasdaq ultimately gained a mind-boggling 85% in 1999. The huge yearly gain was spearheaded by a handful of large-cap companies. QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM was one of the top-performing Nasdaq stocks in 1999, gaining more than 2,600% on the year. In fact, 12 Nasdaq stocks gained at least 1,000% that year.

But while tech stocks surged during the final stages of the dot com bubble, other sectors didn’t fare so well. In fact, the financial sector finished 1999 down more than 9%, and 76% of all S&P 500 stocks finished 1999 lower for the year.