Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, saw the New York Stock Exchange trade a record 16.4 million shares during the Wall Street Crash.
The trading volume reflected an extraordinary rush to sell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 30.57 points, or 11.73%, after already falling sharply on Black Monday. Prices continued to collapse as confidence disappeared and buyers became scarce at quoted levels.
The crash followed a speculative boom in which many investors bought shares on margin, borrowing money against their holdings. Once prices declined, margin calls forced additional selling. Banks and brokers were also exposed because loans and collateral were tied to inflated securities values.
Black Tuesday is often treated as the single symbolic end of the 1920s market boom, but the crash unfolded over several sessions. Black Thursday, October 24, had begun the panic, while Black Monday and Black Tuesday produced the largest consecutive losses of that week.