The 2020 market crash triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and an oil-price collapse was the COVID-19 crash.
Global stock markets fell rapidly in February and March 2020 as the virus spread, governments imposed restrictions, and investors assessed the economic effects of business closures and disrupted supply chains. A breakdown in oil-production negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Russia intensified the turmoil on March 9.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average entered a bear market in March. U.S. exchanges triggered circuit breakers several times, including on March 9, 12, 16, and 18. Central banks and governments then introduced substantial monetary and fiscal support, helping markets rebound later in 2020.
The crash is often described as part of the wider COVID-19 recession, but the recession and the stock-market event are not identical. The market decline was exceptionally fast, followed by an unusually rapid recovery in major indexes.