The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the 2020 stock-market crash that sent the S&P 500 into a bear market.
As the virus spread internationally in early 2020, governments imposed travel restrictions, business closures, and other measures that abruptly reduced economic activity. Investors also reacted to uncertainty about corporate earnings, supply chains, energy demand, and public health.
The S&P 500 entered a bear market on March 12, 2020, after falling at least 20 percent from its February peak. Trading was halted several times that month when automatic circuit breakers were triggered. Massive fiscal and monetary support, combined with improving expectations for vaccines and reopening, helped markets recover rapidly from their March lows.
The crash is sometimes confused with the 2008 crisis because both caused worldwide losses. Their immediate triggers differed: 2020 centered on a pandemic and economic shutdowns, while 2008 centered on financial and housing-system failures.