Signs of an impending financial crisis had been identified many months before the crash. For example, on 25 March the Federal Reserve had issued a stark warning of the dangers of speculation on the stock market. This warning coincided with a slowing down of the American economy, but investors continued to purchase stocks that gradually pushed the market to a peak of 381.17 points on 3 September.

By late September many of the larger investors had begun to grow nervous at the continued growth of the markets and started to sell their shares. By the middle of October the market was in freefall as more and more people began panicking about the plummeting prices. Black Thursday saw selling of shares on the New York Stock Exchange on an unprecedented scale. Over 12.8 million shares were sold on that one day alone which resulted in the market losing 11% of its value.

Although Black Thursday was the first day of large-scale panic selling, the losses were dwarfed by those the following week when around 16 million shares were sold. Within just a few days of trading, $30 billion dollars had been wiped off the stock market. This was the Wall Street Crash.

Although the scale of panic selling did slow down, the market continued its downward trajectory for over 2 years, finally reaching an all-time low on 8 July 1932. By that time the effect of the Great Depression had crept around the world, acting as a catalyst for the Second World War that was to follow. The market didn’t return to its pre-crash level until 1954.

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