Stock prices reached unsustainable highs from "summary" of The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith
The most extraordinary thing about the stock market in the years leading up to the great crash of 1929 was the relentless rise in stock prices. Investors seemed convinced that the upward trajectory would continue indefinitely, leading to exorbitant valuations that defied logic and reason. As prices soared to unprecedented levels, many observers began to question the sustainability of such lofty highs. While some saw the soaring prices as a sign of economic prosperity and limitless growth, others sounded the alarm about the dangers of speculative excess. It became increasingly clear that the market had become detached from underlying economic fundamentals, driven instead by irrational exuberance and unfounded optimism. This disconnect between prices and reality set the stage for a dramatic and devastating collapse. As stock prices reached ever greater heights, more and more investors were drawn into the frenzy, lured by the promise of quick and easy profits. The fear of missing out on the action led many to abandon caution and throw caution to the wind, fueling the speculative bubble even further. The market became a feeding frenzy of greed and speculation, with little regard for the risks involved. In the midst of this speculative mania, warnings of an impending crash were dismissed as mere noise, drowned out by the roar of the crowd clamoring for more. Those who dared to question the sustainability of the market's exuberance were ridiculed and marginalized, their concerns brushed aside in the rush to ride the wave of ever-rising prices. But as history has shown time and time again, all bubbles must eventually burst. The higher stock prices climbed, the farther they had to fall when the inevitable reckoning came. And when it did, the crash of 1929 brought about a catastrophic collapse that wiped out fortunes overnight and plunged the nation into the depths of the Great Depression. The unsustainable highs of the stock market proved to be nothing more than a house of cards, built on a foundation of speculation and folly.
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