The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 stock-market crash, including the fastest 30 percent fall in S&P 500 history.
The crash unfolded in February and March 2020 as the new coronavirus spread internationally and governments introduced travel restrictions, business closures, and stay-at-home measures. Investors rapidly reassessed corporate earnings, employment, supply chains, energy demand, and economic growth.
The S&P 500 entered a bear market on March 12, 2020, and reached its closing low on March 23. From its February 19 record close to that low, the index fell about 34 percent in just over a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also suffered several very large daily declines.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates, restarted and expanded asset-purchase programs, and introduced emergency lending facilities. Governments announced major fiscal support. Markets rebounded strongly later in 2020, although the economic effects of the pandemic remained severe and uneven.