The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the 2020 global stock-market crash and the fastest U.S. bear market in history.
As the novel coronavirus spread internationally in February and March 2020, governments introduced travel restrictions, business closures, and other measures that sharply reduced expected economic activity. Investors also reacted to an oil-price dispute and uncertainty about corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 entered a bear market on March 12, 2020, and reached its initial pandemic-era low on March 23. The decline from the February record to the March low occurred in only 33 calendar days, making it exceptionally rapid.
The crash was followed by extraordinary fiscal and monetary support, including emergency Federal Reserve programs and large government relief measures. It is distinct from the 2008 crash, whose immediate center was the banking and mortgage system.