What was the final trading day of the Nikkei 225’s 1989 bubble peak?

December 29, 1989, was the final trading day of the Nikkei 225’s 1989 bubble peak.

The Nikkei 225 closed at 38,915.87 that day, its record closing level for many years. Japan’s asset-price bubble had been supported by rapid credit growth, high land prices, and strong optimism about Japanese companies and the economy. Equity and property valuations rose far beyond levels that could be justified by ordinary earnings and rents.

The Bank of Japan tightened monetary policy, and asset prices then fell sharply. The bursting bubble contributed to bank problems, weak investment, deflationary pressure, and a prolonged period of slow growth often called Japan’s Lost Decades.

The 1989 peak is sometimes confused with the later intraday high. The Nikkei’s highest intraday level was reached on December 29 as well, at 38,957.44. The closing figure is the standard statistic used when describing the index’s 1989 record.