During the COVID-19 stock-market crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its largest one-day point drop on 16 March 2020.
The Dow fell 2,997.10 points that day, a decline of about 12.9%. Investors were reacting to the rapidly spreading coronavirus, restrictions on economic activity, emergency policy measures, and a collapse in expectations for corporate earnings and global growth.
The 2020 crash included several automatic trading halts, known as circuit breakers, as selling intensified. The Dow reached its closing low for the episode on 23 March 2020, then recovered sharply as governments and central banks supplied extraordinary economic and financial support. Point losses and percentage losses are different measures: 16 March was the record Dow point drop, but it was not the largest percentage decline in the index’s history.