What is a stock market correction?

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After months of rapid growth in 2024, especially in the tech sector, concerns of a stock market correction are mounting. A slowing U.S. economy intensified selling pressure on the Nasdaq Composite index on Aug. 2, driving it into correction territory. The index closed 10 percent below its recent peak.

Weak numbers on employment and manufacturing sparked a market sell-off, raising concerns about whether the Federal Reserve has acted swiftly enough to cut interest rates. Investors fear larger cuts may be necessary to stave off a U.S. recession.

The Nasdaq Composite’s decline of 10 percent in August from its peak marks the tech-heavy index’s first correction since Jan. 19, 2022. That year proved to be dismal for both stocks and bonds, with the Nasdaq ultimately plunging 36 percent from its high.

So what exactly is a stock market correction and what can you do about it? Here’s what you need to know.

What is a correction and what causes them?

A correction is a decline of 10 percent or more from an asset’s most recent high. For a stock that recently reached an all-time high of $100 per share, a correction would occur if the stock fell to $90 or lower.

Corrections can happen in any financial asset such as individual stocks, broad market indexes like the S&P 500 or commodities. The S&P 500 fell below 4,336 in January 2022, marking a more than 10 percent decline from its high earlier in the year. At that point it fell into correction territory and then declined further throughout the year.

Corrections can be caused by a number of different factors and they’re difficult, if not impossible, to predict ahead of time. Short-term concerns about economic growth, Federal Reserve policy, political issues or even a pandemic all have the potential to trigger market corrections. These issues make investors fearful that their prior assumptions about the future might not be correct. When people are fearful, they typically look to sell stocks in favor of assets considered safer such as U.S. Treasury bonds.

Difference between a correction and a crash

A stock market correction may sound similar to a crash, but there are some key distinctions between the two.

A crash is a sharp drop in share prices, typically a double-digit percentage decline, over the course of just a few days. A correction tends to happen at a slower pace, therefore making the drop less steep than a crash would be. One of the most famous stock market crashes happened in October 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6 percent in a single day that became historically known as Black Monday.

Corrections are more subtle and are sometimes even thought to be healthy for rising markets because they help things from becoming overheated. Like their name suggests, they correct prices back down from an elevated level.

Difference between a correction and a bear market

The difference between a correction and a bear market is in the magnitude of the decline. A correction is a decline of at least 10 percent, but less than 20 percent, while a bear market begins at a decline of at least 20 percent from a recent peak. Bear markets also tend to last longer than corrections because they tend to reflect an economic reality, such as a recession, rather than a short-term concern that may or may not materialize.

The challenge for investors is that it’s very difficult to determine in real time whether a market is just in a correction or if it could become a bear market.

What should investors do during a correction?

For most people, the answer will probably be nothing. Corrections are to be expected as part of a long investing life and a short-term decline of about 10 percent isn’t much when you compare it to the return you’re likely to earn over decades. Trying to shift out of the market when you anticipate a correction is not a wise strategy because you’re likely to predict more corrections than actually occur. However, there are some ways to take advantage of corrections.

If you participate in a workplace retirement plan such as a 401(k) or make regular contributions to an IRA, the purchases you make during market corrections will earn higher returns than those made at higher prices. This approach is known as dollar-cost averaging and will help you take advantage of short-term declines.

If you happen to have extra cash available to invest, corrections can be a good time to put it to work because prices are more attractive. But be careful not to wait too long to invest or you might find yourself paying higher prices than if you’d consistently bought along the way.

Bottom line

Stock market corrections happen occasionally, but long-term investors shouldn’t be overly concerned about them. Keep your focus on achieving your financial goals and try to take advantage of the decline in prices through consistent investing in your retirement accounts. Stocks are volatile, but that’s why they’re part of your long-term goals and not your near-term needs.

— Bankrate’s Rachel Christian contributed to an update of this story.