(Bloomberg) -- The three-day meltdown in Japan’s stocks that’s rocked global markets was so violent that it almost defies description. Here are some numbers that put the size and scope of the move in perspective:
Biggest percentage fall since Black Monday in 1987
- The benchmark Topix index and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average each sank 12% on Monday, 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
- The gauges rebounded about 10% on Tuesday, staging their sharpest rally since October 2008, when stocks soared on government plans to support banks worldwide amid a deepening global credit crisis
Evaporated market cap — $1.1 trillion
- The value of Japan’s stock market shrank by about $1.1 trillion over three days since July 31 to $5.6 trillion, using the current exchange rate. That’s equivalent to Sweden’s entire stock market cap
Record value traded
- The value of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market reached the highest level ever on Monday, at ¥7.97 trillion ($55 billion)
Volatility at unprecedented levels
- The “fear gauge” of Japanese stocks, or the Nikkei Stock Average Volatility Index, surged to its highest ever on Monday
Circuit breaker galore
- Monday’s rout triggered a total of 10 circuit breakers on stock futures, temporarily halting trading to allow investors to “calm down when the market is overly volatile,” according to Japan Exchange Group Inc. That’s the largest number of triggers on a single day since at least 2016, according to data from the exchange
Number of Stocks Hitting Limit Down
- The Topix index’s advance decline line, a popular indicator that tracks the number of securities rising minus the number falling on the exchange each day, dropped on Friday to the lowest since March 2020 during the pandemic selloff
- Of the more than 2,000 stocks on the gauge, only 20 names rose on Monday
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