What date marked the 2020 low of the S&P 500 during the COVID-19 market crash?
Answer
March 23, 2020
March 23, 2020 marked the 2020 low of the S&P 500 during the COVID-19 market crash.
The index closed at 2,237.40 on that date, after falling about 34% from its February 19 record close. Investors were reacting to the rapid global spread of COVID-19, lockdowns, collapsing economic activity, and extreme uncertainty. An oil-price dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia added to market stress earlier in March.
The decline was unusually fast. U.S. markets triggered circuit breakers several times in March, while governments and central banks introduced enormous fiscal and monetary support. The S&P 500 then rebounded sharply as policy support expanded and investors anticipated economic reopening.
March 23 was the closing low, not the day of the first crash-related fall. The index reached its pre-crash record on February 19, and the recovery continued through the remainder of 2020 despite severe public-health and economic disruption.