From 'Black Thursday' in 1929 to subprime crisis in 2008, five worst market crashes world has seen

Analysts called Monday's falls "historic" and some even described it as a "bloodbath", recalling previous collapses since the start of the last century

By AFP

Published: Apr 8, 2025 10:41:04 AM IST

Updated: Apr 8, 2025 11:05:05 AM IST

Traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, on April 7, 2025. Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower Monday, joining a global selloff on worries that a trade war induced by US President Donald Trump's tariffs will spark a global economic slowdown. Image: Timothy A. Clary / AFP

Monday's stock market collapses in Asia and Europe after China retaliated to steep US tariffs revived memories of similar market turmoil after the Covid pandemic and the last global financial crisis.

Analysts called the falls "historic" and some even described it as a "bloodbath", recalling previous collapses since the start of the last century.

2020: Pandemic

Global stocks crashed in March 2020 after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, putting much of the world under lockdown.

On March 12, 2020—the day after the announcement—Paris fell 12 percent, Madrid 14 percent and Milan 17 percent. London dropped 11 percent and New York 10 percent in the worst fall since 1987.

Further falls came over the following days, with US indexes dropping more than 12 percent.

The rapid response by national governments, which dug deep to keep their economies afloat, helped most markets rebound within months.

2008: Subprime crisis

The 2008 global financial crisis was caused by bankers in the United States giving subprime mortgages to people on shaky financial footing and then selling them off as investments, fuelling a housing boom.

When borrowers became unable to pay their mortgages, millions lost their homes, the stock market crashed and the banking system buckled, culminating with the dramatic bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers.

From January to October that year, the world's main stock markets fell between 30 and 50 percent.

Also read: Will 2025 be a reality check for stock markets in India?

2000: Dot.com bubble

The start of the millennium saw the deflation of the tech bubble caused by venture capitalists throwing money at unproven companies.

From a record 5,048.62 points on March 10, 2000, the US tech-heavy Nasdaq index lost 39.3 percent in value over the year.

Many internet startups went out of business.

1987: Black Monday

Wall Street crashed on October 19, 1987, on the back of large US trade and budget deficits and interest rates hikes.

The Dow Jones index lost 22.6 percent, causing panic on markets worldwide.

1929: Wall Street collapse

October 24, 1929 became known as "Black Thursday" on Wall Street after a bull market imploded, causing the Dow Jones to lose more than 22 percent of its value at the start of trade.

Stocks recouped most lost ground during the day but the rot set in: October 28 and 29 also saw huge losses in a crisis that marked the beginning of the Great Depression in the United States and a global economic crisis.