The 2010 Flash Crash was the market event in which the Dow Jones fell nearly 1,000 points within minutes before recovering much of the loss.
On May 6, 2010, U.S. stock markets experienced an exceptionally rapid plunge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 1,000 points, or roughly 9%, at its session low, before rebounding. Some individual securities briefly traded at extraordinarily low prices, while others showed sudden and extreme price increases.
Investigations found that high-frequency trading and automated orders played important roles in amplifying the move. A large sell order in E-mini S&P 500 futures interacted with fragile liquidity and automatic trading responses. The event exposed how electronic markets could move rapidly when many systems reacted to the same signals.
The Flash Crash was different from a conventional crash unfolding over days or months. It was concentrated in minutes and partly reversed the same day. Regulators subsequently introduced measures such as single-stock circuit breakers and expanded market-wide safeguards.