The pandemic that caused the 16 March 2020 stock-market crash was the COVID-19 pandemic.
As COVID-19 spread internationally, governments introduced travel restrictions, business closures and social-distancing measures. Investors rapidly revised expectations for company earnings, employment and economic activity. The resulting 2020 stock-market crash was intensified by an oil-price dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia in early March.
On March 16, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,997.10 points, or 12.93%, its largest one-day point decline at the time. U.S. exchanges also triggered circuit breakers several times during the month. Central banks and governments responded with interest-rate cuts, asset purchases, emergency lending and large fiscal-support programs.
The crash was unusually fast. The S&P 500 reached a bear-market low on March 23, 2020, after falling roughly 34% from its February peak, then recovered rapidly as policy support expanded and vaccine development progressed. It was distinct from the 2008 crisis because its initial shock came from a public-health emergency.