The largest intraday point drop in Dow Jones history during the 2010 Flash Crash was 998.5 points.
On May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 1,000 points within minutes before recovering much of the loss. Several major indexes and individual stocks experienced extreme, short-lived price movements.
Investigations attributed the event to a combination of market stress, high-frequency trading, and a large automated sell order. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission later described how selling pressure interacted with automated systems and reduced liquidity.
The crash led to new market safeguards, including single-stock circuit breakers and broader mechanisms designed to pause trading during unusually rapid declines. It is distinct from a prolonged bear market because most of the fall was reversed the same day.