<P> The Nasdaq Composite stock market index, which included many Internet - based companies, peaked in value on March 10, 2000 before crashing . When the bubble burst, some companies, such as Pets.com and Webvan, failed completely and shut down . Others, such as Cisco, whose stock declined by 86%, and Qualcomm, lost a large portion of their market capitalization but survived, and some companies, such as eBay and Amazon.com, declined in value but recovered quickly . </P> <P> In 1993, the release of the Mosaic web browser made access to the World Wide Web easier . Internet usage increased as a result of the reduction of the "digital divide" and advances in connectivity, uses of the Internet, and computer education . Between 1990 and 1997, the percentage of households in the United States owning computers increased from 15% to 35% as computer ownership progressed from a luxury to a necessity . This marked the Information Age, the shift to an economy based on information technology, and many new companies were founded . </P> <P> At the same time, low interest rates increased the availability of capital . The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, which lowered the top marginal capital gains tax in the United States, also made people more willing to make more speculative investments . Alan Greenspan, the former Chair of the Federal Reserve, allegedly fueled investments in the stock market by putting a positive spin on stock valuations . The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was expected to result in many new technologies and people wanted to profit . </P> <P> As a result of these factors, many investors were eager to invest, at any valuation, in any dot - com company, especially if it had one of the Internet - related prefixes or a ". com" suffix in its name . Venture capital was easy to raise . Investment banks, which profited significantly from initial public offerings (IPO), fueled speculation and encouraged investment in technology . A combination of rapidly increasing stock prices in the quaternary sector of the economy and confidence that the companies would turn future profits created an environment in which many investors were willing to overlook traditional metrics, such as the price--earnings ratio, and base confidence on technological advancements, leading to a stock market bubble . Between 1995 and 2000, the Nasdaq Composite stock market index rose 400% . It reached a price--earnings ratio of 200, dwarfing the peak price--earnings ratio of 80 for the Japanese Nikkei 225 during the Japanese asset price bubble of 1991 . In 1999, shares of Qualcomm rose in value by 2,619%, 12 other large - cap stocks each rose over 1,000% value, and 7 additional large - cap stocks each rose over 900% in value . Even though the Nasdaq Composite rose 85.6% and the S&P 500 Index rose 19.5% in 1999, more stocks fell in value than rose in value as investors sold stocks in slower growing companies to invest in Internet stocks . </P>

When did the stock market crash in the 2000s