What date did the 2010 Flash Crash occur in U.S. stock markets?

The 2010 Flash Crash occurred on May 6, 2010, in U.S. stock markets.

During the afternoon of May 6, major U.S. equity indexes fell sharply and then recovered much of the loss within minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly plunged almost 1,000 points, an unusually large move for such a short period. Many individual stocks and exchange-traded products also experienced extreme temporary price changes.

Investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission concluded that a large automated sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures interacted with high-frequency trading and other automated strategies. The interaction amplified selling and reduced liquidity. The official findings described the event as a complex interaction rather than a single simple mechanical error.

The Flash Crash prompted changes to market safeguards, including stronger controls for clearly erroneous trades and the development of rules for limit-up and limit-down trading pauses. It is distinct from the longer market declines of 2008 and 2020.