The COVID-19 pandemic caused the fastest bear-market decline in U.S. stock-market history during March 2020.
As the novel coronavirus spread internationally, governments introduced travel restrictions, business closures, stay-at-home orders, and other measures to slow transmission. Investors rapidly revised expectations for economic growth, employment, corporate earnings, and energy demand.
The S&P 500 entered a bear market on March 12, 2020, and reached a low on March 23. The market’s speed was intensified by uncertainty, forced deleveraging, and automated trading. Oil prices also collapsed, adding stress to energy companies and credit markets.
The Federal Reserve and other central banks introduced emergency measures, while governments adopted large fiscal-support programs. Stock markets recovered unusually quickly compared with many earlier crashes, although the economic damage and public-health consequences continued. The pandemic crash is distinct from the 2020 oil-price collapse, which happened at the same time but had a different immediate cause.