How many trading days did the 2020 COVID-19 bear market take to arrive?

The 2020 COVID-19 bear market arrived in 16 trading days after the S&P 500’s February 19, 2020 peak.

The S&P 500 entered bear-market territory on March 12, 2020, meaning it had fallen at least 20% from its most recent closing high. This was the fastest such decline from a record high in the index’s history at that time. The fall reflected growing recognition that COVID-19 would disrupt travel, work, trade, and economic activity worldwide.

Markets then experienced extraordinary volatility. The S&P 500 had several trading halts under circuit-breaker rules, and the Federal Reserve and governments introduced large emergency measures. The index reached its 2020 closing low on March 23 before beginning a powerful recovery.

The 16-day figure counts trading sessions, not calendar days. That distinction matters because weekends and market holidays are excluded. The episode is also called the COVID-19 crash, but it was not identical to the 2020 oil-price shock that occurred at the same time.