The COVID-19 pandemic caused the global stock-market crash of March 2020 as governments imposed restrictions worldwide.
As the novel coronavirus spread internationally, investors feared business closures, interrupted supply chains, falling travel and a deep global recession. Stock markets fell rapidly in February and March, making the episode one of the fastest major market declines in history.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average entered a bear market on March 11, 2020, and several major U.S. exchanges triggered circuit breakers during the turmoil. On March 16, the Dow dropped nearly 13 percent, its largest one-day percentage fall since 1987 at that time.
Central banks and governments responded with emergency interest-rate cuts, asset purchases, fiscal support and public-health measures. Markets rebounded strongly later in 2020, although the pandemic continued to affect economies, employment and supply chains.