It's all Greek to me

At a time when the debt crisis in Greece is gaining momentum and spreading fear and uncertainty into stock markets around the globe, we witness the largest ever intraday points decline on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. At its lowest point, the Dow was down 9 per cent or 998.5 points before rebounding to finish the day down 3.2 percent.

The official spin is that a clumsy trader had 'fat-fingered' a market order and mistakenly entered 16 Billion instead of 16 Million in a sell order. Not sure what to make of the situation at this early stage, will be interesting to see how the trading action unfolds over the coming days.

Top DJIA percentage declines

Top ten largest one-day decline in percentage for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index:

1. 12 December 1914 -24.39%
2. 10 October 1987 -22.61%
3. 28 October 1929 -12.82%
4. 29 October 1929 -11.73%
5. 11 June 1929 -9.92%
6. 18 December 1899 -8.72%
7. 12 August 1932 -8.40%
8. 14 March 1907 -8.29%
9. 29 October 1987 -8.04%
10. 21 July 1933 -7.84%

Top DJIA points declines

Top ten largest one-day decline in points for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index:

1. 29 September 2008 -777.68
2. 15 October 2008 -733.08
3. 17 September 2001 -684.81
4. 1 December 2008 -679.95
5. 9 October 2008 -678.91
6. 14 April 2000 -617.77
7. 27 October 1997 -554.26
8. 22 October 2008 -514.45
9. 31 August 1998 -512.62
10. 7 October 2008 -508.39