This Day In Market History: Stocks Begin Crash With Black Thursday

Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that happened on this date.

What Happened

On Oct. 24, 1929, the Dow Jones plunged 11% to kick off the first U.S. stock market crash.

Where The Market Was 

The S&P 500 was slipping from 27.99 at the start of October to a 20.58 monthly close. The Dow was on its way down from 3,991.06 to 3,486.76.

What Else Was Going On In The World

The world population was about 2.07 billion, and life expectancy was 55.8 years for U.S. men and 58.7 years for U.S. women.

Black Thursday Takes Down The Markets

Following the September crash of the London Stock Exchange, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 began with the Black Thursday tumble. A record of 12,894,650 shares exchanged hands, the ticker tape fell four hours behind and bankers attempted to calm the storm with significant block trades.

A few days later — on what is now known as Black Tuesday — the New York Stock Exchange lost billions of dollars on a trading volume of 16 million shares. These sessions marked the start of the Great Depression, which plagued Western nations for the next decade.

The events followed a period of rapid expansion in the U.S. market, which itself succeeded a term of great speculation. A number of poor circumstances befell the nation: production and wages fell, unemployment surged, debt and bank loans proliferated, and agriculture stumbled.

Related Links:

Welcome To Trumpville: The Market In 1929 And Now

This Day In Market History: Black Monday

Public domain photo.