How long did the 2010 Flash Crash’s most intense market disruption last?
Answer
About 36 minutes
The 2010 Flash Crash’s most intense market disruption lasted about 36 minutes.
On May 6, 2010, U.S. equity markets experienced an extremely rapid decline and partial rebound. The Dow Jones Industrial Average temporarily plunged nearly 1,000 points, while many securities traded at prices far outside their recent ranges. The most dramatic movement occurred during the afternoon and was largely reversed before the close.
Investigations found that automated trading, high-frequency trading, and a large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures interacted in ways that amplified the decline. The event demonstrated that electronic markets could move much faster than human traders could react.
The 2010 Flash Crash should not be confused with a normal multi-day bear market or with the 1987 crash. It was unusually brief and concentrated in a single trading session. Regulators later introduced measures including market-wide circuit breakers and clearer procedures for reviewing clearly erroneous trades.