Wall Street on track for biggest December decline since the Great Depression

Stock markets in the US are heading for a dismal end to the year. Photo / AP

Stock markets in the US are heading for a dismal end to the year, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 currently on track for their biggest December loss since 1931 during the Great Depression.

With just six trading days to go, both the Dow and the broader S&P 500 index are each down more than 10 per cent this month, according to the Daily Mail.

Wall Street suffered its second straight rout Thursday (US time), with the Dow ending trading 2 per cent lower at 22,859.60, a loss of 460 points, and the S&P 500 dropped 1.6 per cent to 2,467.42.

The Dow and S&P 500 are both in the red for the year, putting stocks on track to have their worst annual loss since the 2008 Great Recession — and first annual loss since 2015, according to CNN.

December is typically the best month of the year for the market, with stocks flourishing as the year draws to an end.

However, this year's bruising December is still far from that of 1931, with Depression-era losses being much bigger. That December the Dow plunged 17 per cent while the S&P 500 plunged 14.5 per cent, according to CNN.