In early 1991, due to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the United States launched the Gulf War and quickly defeated Iraq.

The Gulf War caused international oil prices to soar, consumer confidence to decline, and the Federal Reserve to face a dilemma between inflation and recession.
This led to the recession of 1990-1991.
On February 28, 1991, the Gulf War ended. By June 1991, the U.S. unemployment rate reached its peak, a phenomenon known as a "jobless recovery"; meanwhile, the U.S. stock market had already priced in the economic recovery.
It’s the ECONOMY, stupid!