On what date did the 1987 Black Monday stock-market crash hit the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

The 1987 Black Monday stock-market crash hit the Dow Jones Industrial Average on October 19, 1987.

The date followed a turbulent week in which markets had already fallen sharply. On October 19, selling accelerated across international exchanges, and the Dow lost 508 points, or 22.6% of its value. The decline was the largest one-day percentage fall in the index’s history.

Several explanations were discussed, including overvalued markets, rising interest rates, trade tensions, portfolio-insurance strategies, and computerized selling. No single cause fully explains the speed and scale of the collapse.

The crash is called “Black Monday” because of its historical association with catastrophic market losses, although the date was Monday only in the United States. In parts of Asia and Australia, the corresponding trading session occurred on October 20 because of time-zone differences.