How long did the dramatic U.S. stock-market plunge known as the 2010 Flash Crash last?

The dramatic U.S. stock-market plunge known as the 2010 Flash Crash lasted about 36 minutes.

On May 6, 2010, U.S. markets fell extremely quickly, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping nearly 1,000 points before recovering much of the loss. The sharpest phase occurred between roughly 2:32 p.m. and 3:07 p.m. Eastern Time, making the episode unusually brief compared with conventional bear markets.

Investigations found that automated trading and a large sell order interacted with already stressed market conditions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission later described how algorithmic activity and liquidity withdrawal amplified the decline.

The event also exposed weaknesses in market structure. Some individual securities briefly traded at wildly abnormal prices, and exchanges later strengthened circuit breakers and other controls. The Flash Crash differed from the 1929 or 2008 crashes because its most extreme movement was rapidly reversed.