The 2010 U.S. market event in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 1,000 points in minutes was the Flash Crash.
On May 6, 2010, major U.S. stock indexes experienced an exceptionally rapid decline and partial recovery. The Dow lost about 1,000 points, or roughly 9%, during the session, before regaining much of the loss. Prices in individual stocks and exchange-traded funds also moved to extreme levels.
Investigations concluded that automated trading and market-structure conditions amplified the sell-off. A large order to sell E-mini S&P 500 futures interacted with high-frequency trading and reduced liquidity, helping prices fall abruptly. The event exposed weaknesses in safeguards used by electronic markets.
The Flash Crash was not a conventional, prolonged bear market. It was a short-lived market disruption, although it led exchanges and regulators to introduce or strengthen circuit breakers, trading pauses, and monitoring systems.