Dow plunges 1,600 points, recovers a bit in 6th-largest drop ever

The Dow Jones industrial average took a plunge of 1,600 points Monday in what at least one analyst called a "flash crash."

Minutes after the Dow sank 1,600 points, it reversed briefly and closed down 4.9 percent, or 1,175 points to 24,345.75.

The plunge was said to be the sixth-largest point drop on record. However, it's only the 538th largest dip in terms of percentages.

The White House, which cited economic growth, low unemployment rates and rising wages, said President Trump is focused on "our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong."

CNBC analyst Jim Cramer called Monday's big plunge a "flash crash."

"The markets showed the same lack of class and power and honesty and truth that we have seen in every kind of these flash crashes," Cramer said during CNBC's "Closing Bell."

Since the new year, the market has quickly soared, and then it sank even faster.

"The market got phony again," Cramer said. "It's a shame. It can't handle the volume, and it can't handle this level of selling."

But investors should remember that these moments often present great opportunities to buy.

"And the market just broke again," he said. "We haven't seen it break in a long time."

Cramer said the market sometimes breaks when the volume of trading is simply too high.

"It's OK," he said. "It happens periodically and it freaks people out at home. We can spin any tale we want, but what I am saying is that the market doesn't work at certain points."

Still, nobody should feel like it's time to "freak out," he said.

"I see idiots coming in and selling and I see it's too fast to buy," Cramer said. "Just remember the flash crash a few years ago, another flash crash a few years ago. When the market can't handle this kind of trading, you get this. But don't freak out. Look for something you like to buy."

"The stock market is throwing a tantrum," Andres Garcia-Amaya, CEO of wealth management firm Zoe Financial, told CNN Money.

"Take a deep breath," Garcia-Amaya said. "I know it's been a while since we had a day like today, but nothing has really changed from a fundamental standpoint."

Bloomberg cited rising concern that interest rates will be forced higher by inflation. Last week, the Federal Reserve said inflation appears to be on the uptick.

CNBC said some computer-programmed trading had "sent Wall Street into a bizarre tizzy."

Still, the Dow isn't any worse off than it was in December.

"Panic is already starting to set in, which is kind of incredible when you actually think about it," Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management, told CNBC. "The S&P is trading where it was in sometime in December. So it's not like we're retracing an entire 12 months of returns here. I think investors are just understandably nervous. It probably is programmed trading kicking in at this point."

The Dow spiked about 40 percent after President Trump's election, and it's still up by 20 percent.

A monthly jobs report released Friday showed the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in January and wages are on the rise.