What global health crisis helped trigger the 2020 stock-market crash?

The COVID-19 pandemic helped trigger the 2020 stock-market crash. As the virus spread internationally in early 2020, governments introduced travel restrictions, business closures, quarantines, and other measures that sharply reduced economic activity.

Financial markets also reacted to uncertainty about corporate earnings, supply chains, employment, and the potential scale of the health emergency. Major stock indexes fell rapidly in February and March 2020, while volatility reached exceptional levels.

The crash occurred alongside a collapse in oil prices after a dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia weakened an agreement to limit production. These events were related but distinct: the pandemic was the central global shock, while the oil-price conflict intensified market stress.

Central banks and governments later introduced large monetary and fiscal responses. Markets began recovering in spring 2020, although the economic effects of the pandemic continued for much longer.