The 2010 market crash that briefly erased about $1 trillion in U.S. equity value was the Flash Crash.
On May 6, 2010, U.S. stock indexes plunged rapidly and then recovered much of the loss within minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,000 points intraday, one of its largest point declines at that time.
Investigations linked the episode to interactions among high-frequency trading, automated orders, and a large sell order in the futures market. The event exposed how modern electronic markets could amplify a temporary imbalance in buying and selling.
The Flash Crash differed from a conventional bear market because its sharpest movement was extraordinarily brief. Regulators later introduced measures including trading pauses and circuit breakers intended to reduce the risk of similar disorderly moves.