The COVID-19 stock-market crash reached its global low point in March 2020.
As governments restricted travel, closed businesses, and introduced lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19, investors rapidly reassessed corporate earnings and economic growth. Major stock indexes around the world fell sharply. The S&P 500 entered a bear market on March 12, and its closing low for the crash came on March 23.
Central banks and governments responded with emergency measures, including interest-rate cuts, asset purchases, fiscal support, and lending programs. Markets then rebounded quickly compared with many earlier crashes, although the economic effects of the pandemic continued for years.
The March low is sometimes confused with the timing of the pandemic’s first confirmed cases or later market volatility. The crash began in February 2020, but March was the month in which the major global indexes generally reached their crisis lows.