The abrupt U.S. stock-market plunge on May 6, 2010, in which the Dow briefly lost nearly 1,000 points, is called the Flash Crash.
During the afternoon of May 6, major U.S. indexes fell extremely quickly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 1,000 points, or nearly 9 percent, before recovering much of the loss within minutes. Some individual securities briefly traded at extraordinarily low prices.
Investigations found that automated trading, market fragmentation, and reduced liquidity helped intensify the movement. A later U.S. investigation concluded that a large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures was an important trigger, while automated systems amplified the decline.
The event differed from a conventional bear market because its most dramatic movement happened within minutes and was followed by a rapid partial recovery. Regulators subsequently introduced safeguards such as circuit breakers and rules designed to address disorderly electronic trading.