What date is associated with the 2010 United States “Flash Crash”?

The 2010 United States “Flash Crash” occurred on May 6, 2010.

During the afternoon of May 6, U.S. financial markets fell extremely rapidly before recovering much of the decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 1,000 points, or roughly 9%, within minutes. Some individual securities briefly traded at implausible prices, illustrating how fragile automated order systems could become under stress.

Investigations linked the episode to interactions among high-frequency trading, algorithmic orders, and a large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures. A later U.S. Justice Department case identified trader Navinder Singh Sarao, who pleaded guilty to market-manipulation charges connected with spoofing activity. Regulators also found that no single explanation captured every market movement.

The event differed from a traditional crash because its most dramatic fall and rebound happened in a very short period. It led to reforms such as clearer market-wide circuit breakers and mechanisms designed to prevent trades at extreme prices from distorting the market record.