Editing Stock market crash (section)

===Wall Street Crash of 1929===
{{Main|Wall Street Crash of 1929}}
{{ multiple image | total_width=500
| image1= 19291030 Crash of '29 - New York Times.jpg |caption1= After large market declines on October 28 and 29, ''The New York Times'' described the financial community's response to "the most disastrous trading day in the stock market's history". Margin requirements were reduced to 25%, banking leaders expressed assurance of their support, and the sentiment on Wall Street was said to be "more cheerful" after earlier declines.<ref name=NYTimes_19291030>{{cite news |title=STOCKS COLLAPSE IN 16,410,030-SHARE DAY, BUT RALLY AT CLOSE CHEERS BROKERS; BANKERS OPTIMISTIC, TO CONTINUE AID |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/10/30/96008276.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 30, 1929}}</ref>
|| image2= Crowd outside nyse.jpg |caption2= Crowd gathering on [[Wall Street]] the day after the 1929 crash
}}
The economy grew for most of the [[Roaring Twenties]]. It was a technological golden age, as innovations such as the radio, automobile, aviation, telephone, and the [[electric power transmission]] grid were deployed and adopted. Companies that had pioneered these advances, including [[Radio Corporation of America]] (RCA) and [[General Motors]], saw their stocks soar. Financial corporations also did well, as [[Wall Street]] bankers [[Public float|floated]] [[mutual fund]] companies (then known as [[investment trust]]s) like the [[Goldman Sachs]] Trading Corporation. Investors were infatuated with the returns available in the stock market, especially by the use of [[Leverage (finance)|leverage]] through [[Margin (finance)#Margin buying|margin debt]] (i.e., borrowing money from your stockbroker to finance part of your purchase of stocks, using the bought securities as collateral).

On August 24, 1921, the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] (DJIA) was at 63.9. By September 3, 1929, it had risen more than sixfold to 381.2. It did not regain this level for another 25 years. By the summer of 1929, it was clear that the economy was contracting, and the stock market went through a series of unsettling price declines. These declines fed investor anxiety, and events came to a head on October 24, 28, and 29 (known respectively as [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Black Thursday]], [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Black Monday]], and [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Black Tuesday]]).

On Black Monday, the DJIA fell 38.33 points to 260, a drop of 12.8%. The deluge of selling overwhelmed the [[ticker tape]] system that normally gave investors the current prices of their shares. [[Telephone line]]s and telegraphs were clogged and were unable to cope. This information vacuum only led to more fear and panic. The technology of the New Era, previously much celebrated by investors, now deepened their suffering.

The following day, Black Tuesday, was a day of chaos. Forced to liquidate their stocks because of [[Margin (finance)#Margin call|margin call]]s, overextended investors flooded the exchange with sell orders. The Dow fell 30.57 points to close at 230.07 on that day. The glamour stocks of the age saw their values plummet. Across the two days, the DJIA fell 23%.

By the end of the weekend of November 11, 1929, the index stood at 228, a cumulative drop of 40% from the September high. The markets rallied in succeeding months, but it was a temporary recovery that led unsuspecting investors into further losses. The DJIA lost 89% of its value before finally bottoming out in July 1932. The crash was followed by the [[Great Depression]], the worst [[Crisis (economic)|economic crisis]] of modern times, which plagued the stock market and Wall Street throughout the 1930s.