How long did the 2010 United States Flash Crash last before most prices recovered?

The 2010 United States Flash Crash lasted about 36 minutes before most prices recovered.

On May 6, 2010, U.S. stock indexes dropped suddenly, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing nearly 1,000 points at its low. The fall began in the afternoon and was followed by a rapid rebound, although some individual securities experienced much more extreme temporary movements.

Investigations linked the event to interactions among automated trading systems, high-frequency trading, and a large sell order in the futures market. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission later described how selling pressure moved through connected markets.

The crash differed from a conventional bear market because its most dramatic movement happened within minutes rather than over months. It prompted new safeguards, including market-wide circuit breakers and mechanisms to cancel clearly erroneous trades. The event also showed how modern electronic markets can transmit shocks exceptionally quickly.