What date marked the 2020 low point of the COVID-19 bear market in the S&P 500?

23 March 2020 marked the 2020 low point of the COVID-19 bear market in the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 closed at 2,237.40 on 23 March 2020, after falling rapidly from its record close on 19 February. The decline reflected the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdowns, travel restrictions, business closures, and uncertainty about earnings and financial conditions.

From its February peak to the March low, the index fell about 33.9%, making the episode one of the fastest bear-market collapses in modern US market history. Emergency interest-rate cuts, central-bank lending programs, government stimulus, and improving expectations about vaccines later supported a powerful recovery.

The low date is sometimes confused with 16 March, when the S&P 500 suffered one of its steepest daily percentage losses. A market’s worst single day and its eventual bear-market bottom are not necessarily the same date.