How many trading days did the S&P 500 need to fall 30% in the 2020 crash?

The S&P 500 needed 22 trading days to fall 30% in the 2020 stock-market crash.

The decline began after investors reacted to the spread of COVID-19, disruptions to economic activity, and an oil-price shock. From its February 19, 2020 record close, the S&P 500 fell rapidly and entered bear-market territory on March 12. It reached a closing low on March 23.

The 30% threshold was reached in an exceptionally short period, making the 2020 decline one of the fastest major bear-market drops in modern U.S. history. Emergency monetary and fiscal measures, along with hopes for vaccines and economic reopening, later supported a powerful rebound.

The count refers to trading days, when U.S. exchanges were open, rather than calendar days. That distinction matters because weekends and holidays do not count as sessions. The statistic also describes the fall from the index’s February peak, not the full year’s performance or the duration of the subsequent recovery.