The largest one-day point loss in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the 2020 crash was 2,997 points on March 16, 2020.
The decline occurred as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel, business activity, supply chains, and expectations for corporate profits. Investors also reacted to emergency interest-rate cuts, rapidly changing public-health information, and an oil-price dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The Dow fell 12.93% on March 16, its third-largest percentage decline at that point. U.S. exchanges triggered a 15-minute circuit breaker after the opening plunge, part of safeguards introduced after the 1987 crash.
The 2020 crash was unusually fast. After reaching a record high in February, major U.S. indexes entered a bear market in March. Massive fiscal support, central-bank intervention, and reopening expectations helped markets recover later in 2020, although economic effects and sector damage varied widely.