Which name identifies the global stock-market plunge of October 19, 1987?

The global stock-market plunge of October 19, 1987, is known as Black Monday.

On that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6%, its largest one-day percentage decline. Major markets in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America also suffered severe losses, making the event global rather than solely American.

Several factors were associated with the crash, including elevated valuations, trade and currency tensions, and rapidly expanding computerized portfolio-insurance strategies. The precise cause remains debated because no single event explains every market’s synchronized fall.

The crash did not produce a depression comparable to the 1930s. Central banks supplied liquidity, exchanges introduced new safeguards, and the U.S. market eventually recovered. The episode helped establish circuit breakers and other mechanisms intended to slow panic selling.