Which trading day saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average lose about 22.6% in 1987?

Black Monday was the 19 October 1987 trading day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 22.6%.

The fall was the largest one-day percentage decline in the Dow’s history. Selling spread rapidly among global markets: Hong Kong fell first, followed by major European exchanges and the United States. The Dow lost 508 points, a huge move for the era.

Researchers have identified several contributing factors, including stretched valuations, rising interest rates, trade concerns, and computerized portfolio-insurance strategies. No single news event fully explains the worldwide cascade. Market rules and trading systems were later changed, including circuit breakers designed to pause trading during extreme declines.

Black Monday is sometimes confused with the 1929 crash’s Black Monday, which occurred on 28 October 1929. The 1987 event is also distinct from the 1987 market recovery that followed; despite the historic one-day loss, the broader economy did not enter a depression like the 1930s.