What was the 1989 U.S. market event called after its rapid 190-point Dow decline?

The 1989 U.S. market event after its rapid 190-point Dow decline was called the Friday the 13th mini-crash.

On Friday, October 13, 1989, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, or about 6.9%. The drop followed the collapse of a proposed leveraged buyout of United Airlines’ parent company. Investors worried that the failed deal signaled tighter credit and weaker conditions for highly leveraged transactions.

The decline was abrupt, but it was not the same event as the 1987 Black Monday crash. The October 1989 episode also did not produce the same prolonged worldwide panic, although it highlighted the vulnerability created by computerized trading and leveraged finance.

The nickname combines the calendar date with the relatively brief scale of the sell-off. The Dow’s point loss can sound smaller than later crashes because the index level was much lower in 1989; percentage change is the better comparison across eras.