A line chart shows the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index from 1973 through 2023, including its performance during seven recessions. Equity prices frequently begin to fall prior to the start of a recession and hit their lows during the recession. During the recession that began in November 1973 and ended in February 1975, the S&P 500 Index reached its low toward the end of the period, in September 1974. The next recession was much shorter, from January through June 1980. During this six-month period, the index reached its low in March, slightly earlier than in the previous recession. The recession that began in July 1981 lasted until October 1982. The low point of the S&P 500 Index occurred relatively late in the period, in July 1982. During the recession that began in July 1990 and extended through February 1991, the index hit its low in the middle of the period, in October 1990. For the recession that occurred from March through October 2001, the low occurred late in the period, in September. The next recession started in December 2007 and lasted through May 2009. The low for the S&P 500 Index during this period occurred near the end of the period, in February 2009. During the 2020 recession, which lasted only two months, the low occurred during the latter half of the period, in March.