March 13th was still during daylight saving time.
The Nasdaq opened on Monday from 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
As usual, a large number of investors flooded into the Nasdaq exchange today, many with looks of frenzy, but also quite a few with worried expressions.
"The market's open!"
It was unclear who shouted this from the crowd, but it didn't matter. After being closed for Saturday and Sunday, the Nasdaq reopened today.
"I must buy more stocks," an investor secretly vowed.
However… Boom!!!
The Nasdaq was awash in red!
(In the US stock market, a green line indicates a rise, and a red line indicates a fall.)
Without a doubt, as soon as the Nasdaq opened today, almost all lines were red!
It fell!
And it was a massive drop!
"No… This can't be?!"
An investor who had invested heavily earlier looked horrified and roared, "How could it fall? And such a big drop? Impossible, this must be a market adjustment."
Indeed, the stock prices of internet and tech companies listed on the Nasdaq were plummeting at an incredibly rapid pace.
Yahoo, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, and other previously popular stocks were now experiencing widespread selling.
"What?!"
"We just opened, and we've already lost dozens of index points!"
"This isn't good, today's stock market is going to be terrible~"
Investors who had invested significant capital in internet and tech stocks immediately panicked. It was known that the Nasdaq had faced stock price declines before, but many had never even heard of a situation like today, where almost all lines were red and falling.
They were greatly alarmed!
On the other hand, the various investment banks on Wall Street were even more distraught, their eyes practically popping out.
"Damn it, hurry up!"
A manager at Goldman Sachs roared at his employees, "We have to be fast now, sell all these damn stocks!"
"Yes," the employees responded loudly.
Thump thump thump~
The executives of Goldman Sachs, who usually sat leisurely in their offices, now rushed out of their respective offices.
Executives like John Ketaborgs looked at each other.
"We had anticipated the worst-case scenario, but the situation's development has completely exceeded our expectations."
John Ketaborgs said in a deep voice, "But no matter what, we are Goldman Sachs! All of you are seasoned veterans, this little difficulty won't defeat us, nor will it crush us."
Despite his resolute words, John's eyes were now incredibly bloodshot.
They had suffered a huge loss this time.
"Damn it~ Team two, team three, emergency deployment!"
"That's right, not enough manpower? We absolutely cannot be short-handed. I'll contact them immediately. We must sell all the stocks as quickly as possible."
In fact, major investment banks could now short the market and cut their losses in time.
But!
But where did they have the time for that now?
If they didn't sell these stocks quickly, they would definitely be stuck with them, and the losses would be enormous.
Goldman Sachs was taking action, implementing stop-loss operations.
And the five major Wall Street investment banks—Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch—these investment banks, once called "emperors," were all frantically selling off stocks.
"Damn it, this time the losses are huge!"
"We invested no less than 9 billion US dollars in internet and tech stocks!"
"If only we had known. I said at the time that we should sell quickly and lock in profits, but… you didn't listen, you dismissed my words, and now you regret it? Why didn't you do something earlier?!"
"Sofit, stop with the sarcastic remarks. Is this the time to discuss such things?"
"Sell, we must sell everything quickly, otherwise, they will soon become junk stocks."
The investment elites watched the continuously falling stock prices of various listed companies, their hearts bleeding!
Microsoft, the world's largest market-cap behemoth.
Now, under the bubble, its market value lost 40 billion US dollars in less than an hour.
Cisco, Amazon, Yahoo, Dell, HP, Oracle… the stock prices of these top giant companies were falling at a speed that completely exceeded everyone's judgment.
"The current situation is even more terrifying than we anticipated, no, much more terrifying!"
"This is a nightmare!"
...Gale Capital.
Hiss~
Whether it was Kyle, Andy Cherop, or every employee of Gale Capital, everyone was feeling lingering fear.
Who knew Gale Capital would get out so early?
Otherwise, today would have been truly miserable.
For a moment, many people couldn't help but turn their gaze to Kyle.
Why did Henry Jurgenberg, this financial genius, angrily leave Gale Capital?
"If we had really listened to Henry's investment advice back then, then we would now…" an executive trailed off mid-sentence, unable to continue.
"This situation is too terrifying!"
Andy Cherop's pupils constricted sharply, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I've been in Wall Street finance and have seen countless storms—the Asian Financial Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Chilean Silver Crisis, the Mexican financial meltdown—too many to count. However, something like today… not only have I never seen it, I've never even heard of it."
Compared to the Nasdaq today, what was the financial storm that swept across Asian countries and regions in 1997?
Two hours!
In just two hours since the Nasdaq opened today, over 300 billion US dollars had already been lost!
Folks, that's 300 billion US dollars!
Many felt their hearts stop beating at that moment.
The sheer amount of losses, the speed of the decline, and the breadth of its coverage—today's Nasdaq could be called a historical first!
"Haha!"
After a moment of lament, Kyle laughed loudly, "Folks, this isn't the time to be glad we got out in time; it's time to make a big move!"
"Yes, boss!"
Short selling!
At a time like today, it was sure to be a success, especially since Gale Capital now held a massive amount of cash.
Kyle was thrilled.
However, many small and medium-sized investment banks collapsed in this crisis!
"It's over!"
The owner of a small investment bank slumped to the ground, clutching his head with both hands, his eyes red, and roared, "Everything is over!"
After all, his investment bank was not one of the five major investment banks, capable of utilizing sufficient manpower and ample information to sell off stocks. Those who couldn't sell stocks quickly and effectively were clearly going to be stuck with them, and the losses would be immense.
As rampant as they were in the past, they were just as broken today!
Investment banks were despairing, and individual investors were even more distraught, almost dying on the spot from anxiety.
"It's over!"
"The stock market has crashed!"
"The experts said the Nasdaq would continue to rise for a long time? I believed them, I invested my entire life savings, even mortgaged my house, car, and company—everything I could mortgage, I mortgaged. And now? These stocks are all worthless paper~"
In just five hours, the Nasdaq index plummeted from its peak of 5048 points to 4000 points, and it was still falling at a terrifying rate.
Bankruptcies and closures were rampant.
In just a few hours, over 100 companies listed on the Nasdaq declared bankruptcy.
But was that all?
No, the number of listed companies that would go bankrupt and close today would exceed 500!
It was insane!
The Nasdaq and Wall Street were completely insane at this moment; a chilling aura had frozen everyone.
"But… this is just the beginning of the internet bubble!" Kyle gritted his teeth.
Even worse situations were yet to come!