Benzinga | Oct 20, 2021 10:00AM EDT

This Day In Market History: Dow Gains 5.8% In Black Monday Rebound

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened? On this day in 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5.8% as the market rebounded from its record Black Monday sell-off.

Where The Market Was: The Dow finished the day at 1,841.01. The S&P 500 finished at 236.83.

What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1987, Britain's Inter-City 125 high-speed train set a world record for the fastest diesel-powered train, reaching 148 miles per hour in a speed test. Aretha Franklin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The average American income was $24,350.

Black Monday Rebound: On Oct. 19, 1987, the Dow Jones dropped 22.6%, its worst single-day decline in history. The next day, the stock market experienced another session of extreme volatility.

The Dow closed Black Monday at 1,738.34 and opened Tuesday's session at around the same level before rallying 210 points within the first hour of trading. By noon, the Dow had given up all of those early gains. It was down 30 points on the day by 12:30.

The sell-off quickly intensified, triggering trading halts in IBM (NYSE:IBM), Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:KODK) and some of the other largest companies in the market. In fact, the selling pressure got so bad the chairman of the NYSE was reportedly at one point considering closing the exchange entirely for the rest of the day.

The Dow ultimately bounced to finish the day higher by 5.88%. Unfortunately, the Nasdaq did not recover, closing down 9% on the day. The Dow's rebound was driven largely by a handful of blue-chip stocks. Only 509 stocks listed on the NYSE finished the day higher, while 1,445 stocks declined.