Market Caps: Then & Now

As of 12/31/08, the market capitalization of the US stock market was $10.6 trillion, a total equal to 74% of the $14.3 trillion US economy. When the stock market peaked in March 2000 before the beginning of a 2 ½ year bear market that lasted until October 2002, the total market capitalization of stocks was equal to 190% of the size of the US economy, an all-time high for the "stock-to-economy" ratio (source: Wilshire, Commerce Department, Fortune).