The sudden U.S. market plunge on May 6, 2010, was called the Flash Crash.
Between about 2:32 p.m. and 2:47 p.m. Eastern Time, major U.S. equity indexes fell sharply before recovering much of the loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dropped almost 1,000 points, then rebounded within minutes.
Investigations concluded that automated trading, market conditions, and a large sell order interacted in a way that amplified the decline. Some individual securities briefly traded at extremely low or high prices, demonstrating how quickly electronic markets could become disorderly.
The event differed from a conventional prolonged crash because much of the movement was reversed the same day. Regulators subsequently introduced or strengthened safeguards, including circuit breakers and controls for erroneous trades. The Flash Crash is therefore a key example of a rapid, technology-driven market disruption.