The U.S. bear market of March 2020 arrived in 16 trading days after the S&P 500’s peak.
The index reached a record closing level on February 19, 2020, then fell rapidly as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel, business activity, supply chains, and expectations for corporate profits. On March 12, the S&P 500 entered bear-market territory, defined as a decline of at least 20% from a recent peak.
This was the fastest bear-market arrival in the history of the index up to that time. Markets experienced several trading halts, including a circuit breaker on March 9 and additional interruptions later that month.
The crash was followed by an unusually rapid rebound after extraordinary monetary and fiscal support, vaccine progress, and improving economic expectations. The fast recovery does not erase the severity of the initial fall.