Black Monday Stock Market Crash

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BLACK MONDAY STOCK MARKET CRASH

BLACK MONDAY STOCK MARKET CRASH (19 October 1987), a record 508-point plunge of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index of leading stocks that provoked fears of a 1929-size depression. The crash abruptly ended a five-year bull market and led to a 17 percent collapse of stock values worldwide. Soaring federal and trade deficits, pressure on interest rates, and lack of liquidity in the stock market were blamed for the plunge in share prices. The crisis led to reforms in computerized trading programs and a budget compromise between President and Congress that was designed to reassure investors. The incident reaffirmed the importance of psychology in the stock market's performance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fadiman, Mark. Rebuilding Wall Street: After the Crash of '87, Fifty Insiders Tell About Putting Wall Street Together Again. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Metz, Tim. Black Monday: The Catastrophe of October 19, 1987, and Beyond. New York: Morrow, 1988.

Bruce J.Evensen/c. p.

See alsoBusiness Cycles ; Stock Market ; Wall Street .