The October 1989 stock-market plunge in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 190.58 points is commonly called the 1989 mini-crash.
The decline began on October 13, 1989, when the Dow fell 190.58 points, or about 6.9%. The fall was linked partly to the collapse of a proposed leveraged buyout of United Airlines’ parent company. Investors also worried about high interest rates, weakening economic conditions, and the risks created by leveraged financing.
The percentage decline was severe, but the episode was much shorter and less damaging than the October 1987 crash. The Dow recovered much of the loss relatively quickly, which is why the event is generally called a mini-crash rather than a prolonged bear market.
It is easy to confuse this event with Black Monday in 1987, when the Dow fell 22.6% on October 19. The 1989 episode occurred two years later and had a different immediate trigger: the failure of the United Airlines buyout deal and the market’s reaction to its financing structure.