Black Tuesday was the nickname for October 29, 1929, the worst trading day of the Wall Street Crash.
On Black Tuesday, investors sold roughly 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, a volume that overwhelmed the market’s systems and reflected rapidly collapsing confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 12%, after already suffering major losses on Black Monday, October 28.
The crash followed a period of heavy speculation, widespread use of borrowed money to buy shares, and optimistic beliefs that stock prices would continue rising. As prices fell, margin calls forced more investors to sell, creating a damaging feedback loop. The resulting loss of wealth and confidence contributed to the severe economic contraction that became the Great Depression.
Black Tuesday is often paired with Black Thursday, October 24, when the first major wave of panic selling struck. Neither day alone explains the entire Depression. Banking failures, falling demand, international debt problems, and policy choices helped turn a stock-market collapse into a much broader crisis.