The 2010 U.S. market event in which the Dow plunged nearly 1,000 points was called the Flash Crash.
On May 6, 2010, major U.S. stock indexes dropped extremely rapidly before recovering much of the loss within minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average temporarily fell nearly 1,000 points, while some individual securities experienced extraordinary price movements.
Investigations concluded that automated trading, high-frequency trading, and a large sell order interacted with stressed market conditions. The event exposed weaknesses in how fragmented electronic markets handled sudden surges of selling.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigated the episode and introduced or supported market-structure changes. The Flash Crash differs from a traditional bear market: it was exceptionally fast, and much of the decline reversed during the same trading session.