The COVID-19 pandemic was the central trigger associated with the 2020 stock-market crash.
As the novel coronavirus spread internationally in early 2020, governments introduced travel restrictions, business closures, quarantines, and other measures intended to slow transmission. Investors rapidly revised expectations for company earnings and economic activity. Oil prices also plunged after a March 2020 dispute between major producers, adding stress to financial markets.
US trading was halted several times in March when circuit breakers were triggered. The S&P 500 entered a bear market unusually quickly, falling from its February record to its March low in just weeks. Central banks and governments then introduced major monetary and fiscal support, and markets recovered faster than they had after many earlier crashes. The health emergency and its economic consequences should not be confused with the separate 2008 crisis, which originated in credit and housing markets.