The S&P 500 declined 12.0% on March 16, 2020, during the stock-market crash associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fall came as governments introduced travel restrictions and lockdowns, businesses faced unprecedented disruption, and investors reassessed corporate earnings and economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.9% that day, while the S&P 500’s 12.0% decline was its third-largest one-day percentage loss at the time.
March 16 was one of several extraordinary sessions in early 2020. U.S. markets also triggered circuit breakers on March 9, March 12, March 16, and March 18. Central banks and governments then announced extensive monetary, fiscal, and emergency-lending measures.
The date is sometimes confused with March 9, 2020, which was the first of that month’s dramatic “Black Monday” sessions. March 16 produced the larger S&P 500 one-day percentage loss, reflecting the rapidly spreading economic uncertainty.