The 2010 U.S. market plunge in which the Dow fell about 1,000 points intraday was the Flash Crash.
On May 6, 2010, major U.S. stock indexes dropped rapidly and then recovered much of the loss within minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 1,000 points, or nearly 9 percent, from its intraday high before recovering.
Investigations found that automated trading and unusual market conditions interacted during the event. A large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures contributed to intense activity, while liquidity providers and high-frequency traders changed their behavior as prices moved.
The crash was not a conventional multi-month bear market like the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It was a sudden market-structure event involving electronic orders, liquidity, and safeguards. The episode led exchanges and regulators to review circuit breakers and other mechanisms intended to slow disorderly trading.