Which date marked the 2020 pandemic-era stock-market low for the S&P 500?

March 23, 2020, marked the 2020 pandemic-era stock-market low for the S&P 500.

The index closed at 2,237.40 that day, after a rapid sell-off caused by the global spread of COVID-19 and the economic restrictions introduced to slow transmission. Investors feared a sudden recession, collapsing corporate earnings, and severe disruption to travel, retail, energy, and other industries.

The crash was unusually fast. The S&P 500 entered a bear market in March after reaching a record high only weeks earlier. Several trading days triggered market-wide circuit breakers, including March 9, March 12, and March 16, when declines became exceptionally large.

Markets then rebounded sharply as governments and central banks announced huge fiscal and monetary responses, including emergency lending and asset purchases. The March 23 low therefore became a turning point rather than the beginning of a prolonged market decline. The pandemic’s economic effects, however, continued long after share prices recovered.