I was looking at the XAO data from 1984 (as provided by Yahoo) and doing some calculations on the average rate of gain over different time periods. While many of you may know this already, I found it quite interesting.
From the start of the current bull run in 2003 till now, the average rate of gain has been around 19% pa.
From where it returned back to just above 1200 in late 1990 up to the 3000 mark just before the current bull run, the average rate of gain was about 7.7% pa.
And during the period from 1985 to the Oct 1987 crash, the average rate of gain was about 51% pa!
So while the current bull run has had high annual gains, they're nothing like the run up to the '87 crash.
I also find a close-up of the actual crash chart interesting. The big down day is 25%, the three down days just after that around 6.5% to 7% each. What's really amazing though is that spike back up two days after the big down day. I wonder how many lost in the big fall, then bought back in near the high two days later only to lose another heap by the end of that day!
Interesting as an observer, but as they kinda say, a nice time to visit but I wouldn't want to have lived there
.
Cheers,
GP