Which month saw the S&P 500 reach its COVID-19 crash low in 2020?

The S&P 500 reached its COVID-19 crash low in March 2020.

The index closed at 2,237.40 on March 23, 2020, after falling rapidly from its February record. The sell-off reflected the global spread of COVID-19, business shutdowns, travel restrictions, uncertainty about corporate earnings, and severe stress in credit and commodity markets.

The decline was unusually fast. The S&P 500 entered a bear market in March after dropping at least 20% from its recent high. The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, purchased financial assets, and introduced emergency lending facilities, while governments passed large fiscal-support measures.

Markets then rebounded sharply as policy support expanded, vaccine development progressed, and investors anticipated economic reopening. The March low was therefore a key point in the crash, not the end of all pandemic-related economic disruption. The shock also produced brief extreme movements in other markets, including negative settlement prices for some crude-oil futures contracts.