The 1987 global market crash remembered for the Dow’s record percentage fall on October 19 was called Black Monday.
On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6 percent, its largest one-day percentage decline. Markets in Hong Kong, Europe, Australia, and other regions also experienced severe losses, making the event a genuinely international crash.
Possible contributing factors included high valuations, trade and interest-rate concerns, program trading, and portfolio-insurance strategies. Selling reinforced selling as liquidity weakened, producing an unusually rapid downward spiral.
Black Monday is separate from the 1929 crash and from the 1987 market decline’s longer-term economic consequences. Unlike the early 1930s, the 1987 crash did not lead to a comparable worldwide depression, and many markets recovered relatively quickly.