What was the name given to the global stock-market sell-off on March 12, 2020?

The global stock-market sell-off on March 12, 2020, was called Black Thursday.

On March 12, 2020, major stock markets fell sharply as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified. The S&P 500 declined 9.99 percent, its largest one-day percentage fall since the 1987 Black Monday crash. Trading halts were triggered in the United States as the market crossed its circuit-breaker threshold.

Investors were reacting to rapidly worsening public-health news, travel restrictions, business closures, and uncertainty about the economic consequences. The sell-off was part of a broader crash that began after global markets peaked in February 2020 and reached a low in March.

The name Black Thursday can cause confusion because it has also been used for other historical events. In the 2020 context, it specifically refers to March 12. Extraordinary monetary and fiscal support, along with changing expectations about the pandemic, helped markets rebound after the initial collapse.