Question

what are three causes of the crash of 1929? and explain how each one contributed to the 1929 stock market crash

Answer 1

On october 29, 1929, black tuesday hit wall street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the new york stock exchange in a single day. billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. in the aftermath of black tuesday, america and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the great depression (1929-39), the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the western industrialized world up to that time.During the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929 after a period of wild speculation during the roaring twenties. By then, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stocks in great excess of their real value. Among the other causes of the stock market crash of 1929 were low wages, the proliferation of debt, a struggling agricultural sector and an excess of large bank loans that could not be liquidated. An unsustainable boom in share prices in the preceding years. The boom in share prices was caused by the irrational exuberance of investors, buying shares on the margin, and over-confidence in the sustainability of economic growth. Some economists argue the boom was also facilitated by ‘loose money’ with US interest rates kept low in the mid-1920s.These are some of the most significant economic factors behind the stock market crash of 1929.

Credit boom :- In the 1920s, there was a rapid growth in bank credit and loans in the US. Encouraged by the strength of the economy, people felt the stock market was a one-way bet. Some consumers borrowed to buy shares. Firms took out more loans for expansion. Because people became highly indebted, it meant they became more susceptible to a change in confidence. When that change of confidence came in 1929, those who had borrowed were particularly exposed and joined the rush to sell shares and try and redeem their debts.

Buying on the margin:-

Related to buying on credit was the practice of buying shares on the margin. This meant you only had to pay 10 or 20% of the value of the shares; it meant you were borrowing 80-90% of the value of the shares. This enabled more money to be put into shares, increasing their value. It is said there were many ‘margin millionaire’ investors. They had made huge profits by buying on the margin and watching share prices rise. But, it left investors very exposed when prices fell. These margin millionaires got wiped out when the stock market fall came. It also affected those banks and investors who had lent money to those buying on the margin.

Irrational exuberance:-A lot of the stock market crash can be blamed on over-exuberance and false expectations. In the years leading up to 1929, the stock market offered the potential for making huge gains in wealth. It was the new gold rush. People bought shares with the expectations of making more money. As share prices rose, people started to borrow money to invest in the stock market. The market got caught up in a speculative bubble. – Shares kept rising, and people felt they would continue to do so. The problem was that stock prices became divorced from the real potential earnings of the share prices.

Changes in Dow:-

The Dow Jones industrial average in 1929 did not maintain static membership. Some stocks were taken out of the average, and others were added. When the Dow reached its old peak 25 years later, it did so with different stocks than were in it during the crash. This means a comparison of Dow levels in 1929 and 25 years later is an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Revival vs. Recovery:-

Though the market did not fully recover in 1930, it did go through a series of rallies and drops as it tried to mount a revival. New York Stock Exchange stocks recovered 73 percent of their losses in 1930. Each rally was met by a disappointing drop, but the market never went back to its 1929 state of chaos and panic