The first U.S. stock-market circuit-breaker threshold reached during the March 2020 crash was 7 percent.
On March 9, 2020, the S&P 500 fell 7% shortly after trading began, triggering a Level 1 market-wide halt. Trading paused for 15 minutes under rules designed to slow panic selling and give market participants time to assess rapidly changing information.
The decline occurred as investors reacted to the spreading COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp dispute over oil production between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The combination created fear about both public health and global economic activity. Similar 7% halts occurred again on March 12, while larger declines later triggered additional thresholds.
U.S. circuit breakers are based on percentage moves in the S&P 500, not a fixed number of Dow points. Level 1 is reached at 7%, Level 2 at 13%, and Level 3 at 20%; the 20% threshold ends trading for the day. These safeguards differ from individual-stock trading pauses.