Dow Jones plunged almost 1,000 points or 10% on intraday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunged almost 1,000 points or 10% on intraday on Thursday before making a quick recovery shortly after to end at 10,520.32 points, or lower of 347.80 points (3.20%).

What could have really happened in the short 20 minutes 2:40 and 3:00 p.m, sparking off major sell-off on almost all counters? About US$700 billion of U.S. stock-market value was erased in less than 10 minutes, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Reports coming out is saying it was due to a stock market trading error. Citigroup is investigating a rumour that one of its traders entered a trade that helped precipitate a drop of almost 1,000 points.

This is pretty scary.