Worst stock market crashes in history: When investors lost billions

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 suffered sharp losses on Monday following a gap-down opening, as crude oil prices surged past the $130-a-barrel mark amid heightened geopolitical tensions, especially the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Here's a look at the biggest stock market crashes across the globe. (Image: Reuters)

Panic of 1907 | Popularly called the 1907 Bankers' Panic, the event is arguably the first famous instance of a large-scale market crash. The crisis emerged after stock prices fell nearly 50 percent on the New York Stock Exchange primarily due to the manipulation of copper stocks by the Knickerbocker Trust Company. The event took place amid an economic recession and led to widespread panic. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

The Wall Street crash of 1929 | What was a precursor to the Great Depression of the 30s, this crash took place after 10 years of economic prosperity known as the ‘Roaring Twenties'. While the US economy was reaching its highest levels, momentum slowly began shifting and contraction set in. This led to a chain of events leading to the fall of Dow Jones Industrial Average by over 12 percent on October 25, 1929. The crash was called "Black Friday". The panic that ensued crippled the bulk of the capitalist economic systems for nearly a decade and led to political changes paving the way for World War II. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Black Monday of 1987 | Another market disaster took place on October 19 when Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by over 22 percent. This 508-point fall is recorded as the biggest drop in a single day in terms of percentage. While there were concerns of a repeat of the Great Depression, the US market recovered significantly the following day. (Image: Reuters)

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007 | The biggest market crash of the millennium unfolded in October 2007 after the failure of several financial institutions in the US. This, in turn, spread to Europe and other parts of the globe, leading to a significant fall in the value of stocks. The market fall continued until mid-2009 when US indexes fell by over 50 percent. (Image: Reuters)

Coronavirus crisis | In February 2020, stock markets around the world tanked significantly over fears of a coronavirus pandemic. Global markets continue to remain tense in early March 2020, as the virus is spreading to many more countries. (Image: Reuters)

Sensex fall of 2020 | Coronavirus fears coupled with the YES Bank crisis had the BSE Sensex plummet 1,941.67 or 5.17 percent at end of the day. (Image: Reuters)