The 2010 Flash Crash caused major U.S. stock indexes to plunge within minutes on May 6, 2010.
During the afternoon of May 6, prices in U.S. equity markets fell extremely rapidly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 1,000 points, then partially recovered before the session ended. Some individual securities briefly traded at extraordinarily low prices.
Investigations found that high-frequency and automated trading played an important role in the event. A large sell order in an already nervous market interacted with automated strategies and reduced liquidity, allowing prices to move much faster than in a conventional panic.
The episode was not the same as a traditional multi-month bear market. It was a short-lived market dislocation, and regulators later introduced measures such as circuit breakers and clearer controls for extraordinary price movements.