How many shares changed hands on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, in the New York market?
Answer
16.4 million shares
About 16.4 million shares changed hands on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, in the New York market.
The enormous volume reflected panic selling after weeks of instability. Investors rushed to liquidate holdings, while brokers and exchange systems struggled to process the flood of orders. The figure was extraordinary for the period and became one of the clearest numerical symbols of the crash.
Black Tuesday followed Black Thursday on October 24 and Black Monday on October 28. Although the Dow's percentage decline on October 29 was smaller than its fall on October 28, the combination of price losses and record trading made the day historically notorious.
The 16.4-million-share total is often compared with earlier trading records, but it should not be confused with the percentage fall in the Dow. Volume measures how many shares were traded; an index decline measures changes in share prices.