Japan’s Nikkei 225 reached its all-time closing high before the asset bubble burst on December 29, 1989.
The index closed at 38,957.44 that day, after a spectacular rise in Japanese share and property prices during the 1980s. Easy credit, optimistic expectations, and rapid asset-price inflation helped drive the boom.
The peak was followed by a dramatic reversal. The Nikkei lost substantial value in 1990, and Japan’s financial system struggled with the consequences of falling collateral values and bad loans. The market did not return to its 1989 closing high for decades.
This date is sometimes confused with August 18, 1992, when the Nikkei reached a major post-bubble low. The two dates identify opposite points in the same broad episode: the final peak of the bubble and an early trough after its collapse.