After the market closed, the three of them hurriedly had dinner and rushed to the Afore Brokerage Company in the Far East Financial Center. At this moment, everyone here had a serious expression, except for Andrew, who was visibly excited, clearly aware of the performance of the Hong Kong market during the day.
In fact, it wasn't just the Hong Kong market; the main financial markets in the Far East all experienced a sudden plunge. The Japanese stock market plummeted by 620 points, a drop of nearly 15%, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore fell by 12%. Although the Western Hemisphere was behind the Eastern Hemisphere in time, the major capital markets that opened afterward were undoubtedly affected. In Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, and Amsterdam, the declines were no less than 6%.
In London, the second-largest financial market in the world after the United States, the Financial Times Index plummeted as soon as the market opened, casting a shadow over everyone's hearts, reacting to the performance of the Far East and other regions' financial markets. This was a response to the Dow Jones Index's plunge last Friday, and all eyes were on New York, the market with the largest capital scale, highest trading volume, and the latest opening time.
The London Financial Times Index ultimately fell by 183 points, a drop of 10%, setting a record for the largest decline in the British stock market.
Now it was up to New York!
Zhong Shi and the Liao family father and son were resting in the VIP room of Afore Brokerage Company. After a busy night and a day of watching the market, they were already exhausted, especially the elderly Liao Chengde, who fell asleep immediately, snoring loudly like thunder.
Zhong Shi, who was most afraid of such noise when sleeping, was also extremely tired. He fell into a deep sleep as soon as he closed his eyes, completely oblivious to the noise. The young and strong Liao Xiaohua was also very tired. He lay down with his eyes half-closed and couldn't resist the sleep that came over him, lying on the sofa in an ungraceful position.
Around 9:00 PM, Andrew woke the three of them up, with only half an hour left before the New York market opened.
After a quick wash, the three of them finally came to their senses. Zhong Shi asked the excited Andrew, "What happened? Why are you so excited?"
"Mr. Zhong, don't you know?" Andrew's expression froze, asking in disbelief.
"From your expression, it seems the global stock markets are all crashing?" Zhong Shi asked knowingly.
"Bingo, Mr. Zhong, you guessed it right! The global stock markets are indeed crashing! The stock markets in Japan, Germany, the UK, and Hong Kong are all plummeting, with most falling by more than 10%. At this rate, today's New York market will undoubtedly follow suit." Andrew was visibly excited, almost dancing with joy.
"Really? Why?" Liao Chengde looked deeply puzzled. He was the most shocked by this news. The performance of the Hong Kong market during the day had already surprised and delighted him, but he never expected that this stock market crash would spread like a plague across the globe.
Zhong Shi and Liao Xiaohua had anticipated this situation in their late-night discussion. After the double blow of the Dow Jones Index's plunge last Friday and the U.S. Treasury Secretary's speech, it was difficult for the global stock markets to perform well.
"I speculate it's due to the Dow Jones Index's fall last Friday and the analysis by commentators of Treasury Secretary Baker's speech on Sunday!" Andrew shook his head, his tone tinged with pride.
"Is that so?" Liao Chengde looked at Zhong Shi and Liao Xiaohua with suspicion, seeing no change in their expressions, he couldn't help but ask, "What did the Treasury Secretary say that caused this?"
"Mr. Liao, don't you know?" Andrew asked in confusion.
Just as the two were still chatting, the New York stock market opened.
With the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average immediately turned red, instantly falling by 67 points. This performance immediately shattered the confidence of investors who were waiting on the sidelines. The only thought in everyone's mind was to quickly sell their stocks.
A massive wave of sell orders flooded in, and the stock prices turned red across the board, all falling!
"Huh? What's going on? Why isn't the index showing?" Andrew, who was in Hong Kong, looked at the screen in surprise.
Normally, after the market opens, the component stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average would start trading, and the system would calculate the index based on the trading prices, reflecting the market trend for the day. However, after the opening, many of the component stocks had no trades, so the index couldn't be displayed.
Puzzled, Andrew quickly called his colleague in Chicago. As soon as the call was answered, he heard a deafening noise from the other end, which surprised him. The noise in the trading floor was much louder than usual. As he was still stunned, Louis's hoarse voice came through, "Andrew, do you have any trading instructions?"
"Louis, what's wrong? The Dow Jones index isn't showing on my end. What's happening there?" Andrew, coming to his senses, asked urgently.
"I don't know about New York, but in Chicago, the S&P 500 has gone crazy! It's all sell orders, no buyers, it's like the end of the world. I think New York is probably the same!" Louis paused, then said bitterly.
"What?" Andrew asked in surprise. "How is that possible? Is it a crash?"
"I don't know if it's a crash, but I do know your client is making a fortune! His short positions have at least doubled!" Louis said with a bitter laugh. At that moment, a loud noise came through the phone, with traders shouting, "It's below 330, oh my God!"
They were shouting about the S&P 500 index.
Normally, the future stock market index is higher than the current real index, but the S&P 500's decline now exceeded the Dow Jones Index, indicating that market confidence had plummeted to an extremely low point.
"..." Louis was speechless, staring at the display screen in the hall, momentarily forgetting that the call was still connected.
The stock market and the futures market drive each other. The faster the stock index falls, the faster the stock market declines.
At the New York Stock Exchange, all the brokers went crazy, selling their stocks at any cost, whether they were rapidly growing tech companies, leaders in traditional industries, or always-profitable energy sectors. Their only thought was to escape this cursed market as quickly as possible.
The volume of sell orders was so large that even the NYSE's computer system crashed. The number of buy orders was so high that the computer couldn't handle it, and the trading speed was 20 minutes behind the actual trading. This meant that transactions from 20 minutes ago were just being processed, and orders placed now would take nearly half an hour to be executed.
At this point, it was impossible for the Dow Jones Index to show up-to-date and accurate information!
In New York, almost all stocks had a massive backlog of sell orders, while buy orders were few and far between. People could only watch helplessly as the index broke through key support levels like 2150, 2100, and 2050.
In Hong Kong, Andrew and the others were like blind men, relying on constant phone calls to understand the latest market dynamics.
"God! The futures index has already fallen by over 30 points, and your client has already doubled his profits! God!" As Andrew was still stunned, Louis's surprised voice came through the phone.
"What?" Andrew was shocked. He turned to look at the three people who were still composed, seeing them looking at him with puzzled expressions, full of questions.
"Mr. Zhong, the S&P 500 futures in Chicago have plummeted by 10%. What are your plans?" Andrew took a deep breath and asked respectfully.
A doubling of profits meant that Zhong Shi's unrealized gains had already exceeded $300 million. Originally, Zhong Shi had invested $100 million in futures, and with the decline in the U.S. stock market last week, he had already made about $50 million in profits, which he had reinvested in November and December futures short positions.
"Continue holding, continue observing!" Zhong Shi said calmly.
He had simulated this scenario many times in his mind and had finally waited for this historic moment. How could he stop now?
The Liao father and son beside him were stunned, unable to believe what they were hearing. Liao Chengde had thought his gains during the day were already crazy, but compared to Zhong Shi's gains, they were insignificant.
At the New York Stock Exchange.
Some component stocks finally had trades, and the index was finally displayed. However, in the trading hall, everyone looked at the displayed index and trading volume with a sense of numbness.
The index had already fallen below 2000 points, and the trading volume was close to 100 million.
On a normal day, including over-the-counter trading, the NYSE's daily trading volume was around 100 million. Now, before the market closed at noon, the trading volume had already matched the usual daily volume. Despite this, there was still a massive backlog of sell orders, and it was unclear when they would be cleared.
"Will there be a stock market crash like in 1929?" This terrifying thought crossed everyone's mind. It wasn't just a stock market crash but a potential economic depression.
The most frenzied moment finally came just before the market closed at noon.
In the futures market in Chicago, there were still a few scattered long positions and short positions being taken. However, as the market was about to close, investors went crazy, opening short positions rapidly. These short positions were quickly turned over, and those holding large long positions opened new long positions, betting on a rebound in the afternoon. This caused the futures index prices to plummet rapidly.
This situation fed back into the stock market, causing stock prices to fall even more crazily.
Finally, at noon, the stock index stabilized at 1900 points, and everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief. (Thank you for your support. I hope you will recommend and collect more. Comments are welcome.)