The stock market crash of 1929 began on Oct. 24. While it is remembered for the panic selling in the first week, the largest falls occurred in the following two years as the Great Depression emerged. In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) did not bottom out until July 8, 1932, by which time it had fallen 89% from its Sept. 1929 peak, making it the biggest bear market in Wall Street’s history. The Dow Jones did not return to its 1929 high until Nov. 1954.

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Why is 'Stock Market Crash of 1929' the Term of the Day?

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This fourth week of October in 1929, panicked investors sent the Dow plunging 11% in heavy trading in what would become known as “Black Thursday.” The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was a historic stock market crash, and is often cited as one of the catalysts of the Great Depression.

One of the events leading to the crash was the introduction of new regulations concerning public utility holding companies. By 1929, thousands of electricity companies were consolidated into holding companies that were owned by other holding companies, which controlled about two-thirds of the American industry. When the news came that the public utility holding companies would be regulated, it triggered a massive sell-off as investors who had bought stocks on margin became forced sellers.

In the wake of the crash, Congress passed an array of important federal regulations aimed at stabilizing markets, including the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and the Public Utility Holding Companies Act of 1935.

-Clay

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