A stock market “breather” is a pause after a period of strong gains; stocks can remain unchanged or can experience a slight decline during the “breather.” “Aircraft shares took a breather after their recent sharp upward movement” was cited in print in December 1935.
 
   
28 December 1935, Morning Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), “Realizing Takes Hold of Trading on Stock Market,” pg. 7, col. 3:
Aircraft shares took a breather after their recent sharp upward movement, with declines of fractions to around a point shown in such issues as Douglas ...
 
2 December 1936, New York (NY) Times, “FINANCIAL MARKETS; Leading Stocks Unsettled as Low-Priced Issues Gain”:
Much of the market’s indecision, therefore, may be attributed to “technical” considerations; in other words, the stock market’s position might be greatly strengthened in the end by a “breather.”
 
26 October 1938, The Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, FL), “Stock Market Eases Page After Five Lively Days” ‎by Victor Eubank, pg. 7, col. 7:
New York, Oct 26—(AP)—The stock market took a breather today after five successive sessions of rising prices.
 
21 May 1961, New York (NY) Times, “Highlights; Wall St. Will Get A ‘Breather’”:
For Wall Street possibly the best news of the week concerned a breather. Overworked with boom-time stock market volume, brokerage house employes have been toiling overtime and even some Saturdays to keep up with the clerical work.
   
Google News Archive
26 August 1965, Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), “Final Days Of Summer Bring Financial Lull” by Sam Dawson (AP Business News Analyst), pg. 13, col. 2:
The stock market has been taking a breather after its summer rally.
 
Google News Archive
12 September 1982, Eugene (OR) Register-Guard, “Wall Street taking a ‘breather’” by Chet Currier (Associated Press), pg. 2D, col. 2:
Most brokers said It was natural for the market to take a “breather” after such a prolonged and powerful advance.
   
Google News Archive
19 June 1988, Reading (PA) Eagle, “Last words on the summer rally: The season hasn’t started yet” by Mariann Caprino (Associated Press), pg. B-2, col. 5:
But analysts shrugged it off, saying the stock market was over due for a selloff, that it needed a breather and that the overall trend is “constructive.”
 
21 January 1994, Washington (DC) Times, “The higher they climb, the harder they fall”:‎
Sooner or later, the stock market will take a breather. In fact, while the Dow Jones industrial average has been setting records in recent weeks, the broader indexes have been huffing and puffing.
 
Daily Finance
Does the Stock Market Need to ‘Take a Breather’?
by Dan Burrows Dec 13th 2010 6:30AM
The market was so quiet last week that it was easy to sleep through the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) tiptoed past 11,400—a level last seen in September 2008.
 
Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
Stock market rally takes a breather
Posted: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 12:00 am
Associated Press |
NEW YORK A record-breaking rally in stocks paused Monday as investors assessed whether the rise in stock valuations overstated the recent improvement in the economy.