The largest one-day point drop in Dow Jones history during the COVID-19 market crash was 2,997 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,997.10 points on March 16, 2020, a decline of nearly 13%. The fall came as the COVID-19 pandemic spread internationally, governments introduced restrictions, and investors reassessed the outlook for businesses and the global economy.
The drop followed the Dow’s 2,352-point fall on March 12 and occurred after trading was halted by a circuit breaker. The market had already entered a bear market, meaning a decline of at least 20% from a recent high.
Point records depend on the index’s level and should not be confused with percentage records. In percentage terms, the 1987 Black Monday decline was much larger. The 2020 crash was also unusually rapid, with major losses compressed into a few weeks.