During the 2010 Flash Crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly lost nearly 1,000 points before recovering much of the decline.
The event occurred on May 6, 2010, during an already nervous trading session. In a matter of minutes, U.S. equity indexes plunged and then rebounded. The Dow's fall was about 1,000 points, roughly 9%, although the index finished the day down far less.
Investigations linked the episode to automated high-frequency trading, a large sell order, and fragile market liquidity. In 2015, U.S. authorities charged trader Navinder Singh Sarao with using spoofing orders in connection with the crash; later legal proceedings and official analyses examined his role alongside broader market conditions.
The Flash Crash differed from a conventional multi-day bear market because its sharpest movement and partial recovery happened within minutes.