What name is given to the sharp global market decline that began in February 2020 as COVID-19 spread?

The sharp global market decline that began in February 2020 as COVID-19 spread is called the 2020 stock market crash.

The sell-off followed growing evidence that the coronavirus outbreak would disrupt travel, manufacturing, trade, employment, and consumer spending worldwide. Major stock indexes fell rapidly as investors moved toward safer assets and governments introduced lockdowns and other restrictions. The decline was unusually fast, although markets later recovered substantially after central banks and governments announced large-scale financial support.

The crash is closely associated with the broader economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the terms are not identical. The pandemic was the public-health event; the crash describes the abrupt collapse in equity prices. The episode also included several trading halts, known as circuit breakers, in the United States during March 2020.

A common mix-up is to call this crash the “Great Lockdown” or the 2020 recession. Those names describe the wider economic downturn rather than the stock-market event itself. The crash affected exchanges across North America, Europe, and Asia, making it a genuinely global episode.