Speculation that a steep sell-off in the stock market would occur increased during 2008 as the contagion from the mortgage crisis spread to the banking industry and overseas. Financial analysts differ as to whether the market is experiencing a technical "crash," as it did in 1929 and 1987. Between September 29, 2008 and October 6, 2008, the stock market fell over 1100 points, a double-digit percentage loss. A stock market "crash" is not a technical term, but it generally refers to a steep double-digit percentage loss over a short period of time.The Street: Dow Industrials Sink Below the 10,000 Mark (October 6, 2008)