The sudden US market collapse and rapid recovery on 6 May 2010 is known as the Flash Crash.
During the afternoon, major US stock indexes fell extremely quickly before recovering much of the decline within minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly lost almost 1,000 points, roughly 9%, its largest intraday point decline at that time. Individual securities experienced extraordinary temporary prices, including some trades at one cent.
Investigations found that automated trading, market fragmentation, liquidity withdrawal, and a large sell order contributed to the event. In 2015, US authorities charged trader Navinder Singh Sarao with using spoofing, although the crash resulted from interacting market conditions rather than one simple cause.
The Flash Crash led regulators and exchanges to strengthen circuit breakers and other safeguards. It differs from a conventional bear market because the most dramatic movement occurred within minutes and much of it reversed the same day.