The 2010 event in which U.S. stock prices plunged and quickly recovered within minutes was the Flash Crash.
On May 6, 2010, major U.S. indexes fell extremely rapidly before recovering much of the loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dropped nearly 1,000 points, an unusually large move for a single day. Some individual securities traded at extraordinarily low prices during the turmoil.
Investigations identified a large sell order and the interaction of automated trading systems as important factors, although the episode involved several contributing conditions. The event showed how electronic markets could amplify a short-lived shock. It differs from a conventional prolonged bear market: the defining feature was the speed of the fall and partial rebound, not a months-long collapse in economic activity.