How many Dow Jones points were lost during the U.S. Flash Crash on May 6, 2010?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 998.5 points during the U.S. Flash Crash on May 6, 2010.

The fall occurred within minutes during afternoon trading, when major U.S. stock indexes suddenly plunged before recovering much of the decline. The Dow’s 998.5-point drop was about 9% at the time, and some individual securities briefly traded at extremely low or high prices.

Investigations identified a combination of market conditions, automated trading, liquidity problems, and a large sell order as important factors. The event showed how quickly electronic markets could amplify selling when many participants withdrew or reduced displayed liquidity at the same time.

The Flash Crash did not represent a conventional, months-long bear market. It was an exceptionally rapid intraday dislocation, followed by a substantial recovery before the session ended. U.S. regulators introduced or strengthened safeguards afterward, including coordinated trading pauses and stricter controls for automated orders.