Which 1929 stock-market crash followed the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s September 3 peak?

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 followed the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s September 3 peak.

The Dow reached 381.17 on September 3, 1929, after years of rising share prices and widespread speculation. Many investors bought stocks with borrowed money, known as margin buying. That practice magnified gains during the boom but made losses more dangerous when prices turned downward.

The market suffered severe declines in October, including Black Thursday, Black Monday and Black Tuesday. Although prices later recovered temporarily, the broader bear market continued until July 1932. The crash damaged confidence, reduced household and business wealth, and contributed to financial stress, but historians identify multiple causes of the Great Depression rather than a single event.

The 1929 crash is also called the Great Crash. It is distinct from the 1987 crash, when the Dow suffered its largest one-day percentage fall, and from the 2008 crisis, which centered heavily on housing and credit markets.