What was the approximate duration of the 2010 Flash Crash’s most extreme market disruption?

The 2010 Flash Crash’s most extreme market disruption lasted about 36 minutes.

On May 6, 2010, U.S. stock indexes suddenly plunged, then recovered much of the decline before the trading day ended. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly lost nearly 1,000 points, at that time its largest intraday point drop.

Investigations found that automated trading played a major role. A large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures interacted with high-frequency trading and rapidly changing liquidity conditions. Trading algorithms withdrew or responded to one another so quickly that prices moved far beyond normal levels.

The event exposed weaknesses in electronic market structure rather than a conventional, multi-day economic crash. Regulators introduced or strengthened safeguards, including circuit breakers and procedures for reviewing clearly erroneous trades. The episode remains a central example of technology amplifying market instability.