The first major sell-off day of the 1929 New York market crash, 24 October, is known as Black Thursday. Panic selling overwhelmed the New York Stock Exchange, and about 12.9 million shares changed hands, then an extraordinary volume. A group of leading bankers met that afternoon and bought heavily to stabilize prices, producing a temporary recovery.
The respite did not last. Selling intensified on Black Monday, 28 October, and Black Tuesday, 29 October, when prices collapsed again. The crash followed years of speculation, widespread margin buying and rapid expansion in stock prices during the 1920s. Falling share values damaged banks, businesses and household wealth, although historians debate how directly the crash caused the Great Depression.
Black Thursday is sometimes confused with Black Tuesday because both were pivotal days. The date and nickname refer specifically to the first dramatic break in late October, while Black Tuesday marks the final climactic sell-off of that week.