The value of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market reached the highest level ever on Aug 5, at JPY7.97 trillion ($72 billion). The “fear gauge” of Japanese stocks, or the Nikkei Stock Average Volatility Index, surged to its highest ever that same day. Of the more than 2,000 stocks on the gauge, only 20 names rose on Aug 5.
The three-day meltdown in Japan’s stocks that rocked global markets was so violent that it rewrote record books, according to Bloomberg.
The benchmark Topix index and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average each sank 12% on Aug 5, their steepest declines since the Black Monday crash in 1987. Over a three-day period, their tumbles were 20%, the most ever in Bloomberg-compiled data going back to 1959 for the Topix and 1970 for the Nikkei.
