During the 2020 COVID-19 stock-market crash, the Dow suffered its largest one-day point drop on March 16, 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,997.10 points that day, a decline of about 12.9 percent. The sell-off came as the COVID-19 pandemic spread internationally, governments imposed restrictions, and investors assessed the likely economic impact of business closures and disrupted travel.
U.S. markets also experienced automatic trading halts, known as circuit breakers, during the March 2020 turmoil. These mechanisms temporarily pause trading after specified declines, giving market participants time to reassess rapidly changing conditions.
March 16 is often confused with March 9 or March 12, which were also exceptionally severe sessions. March 12 recorded the Dow’s second-largest point loss at the time, while March 9 was the first of several 2020 days when the market hit a circuit breaker. Point records depend on the index’s level, so percentage records are a separate measure.