10 Worst One-Day Declines in the S&P 500 Index (1957-2026)

Here are the 10 largest single-day percentage declines in the S&P 500 over the 69-year period, ranked by severity:

1. October 19, 1987 – Black Monday
   • One-Day Decline: -20.47%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 264
   • 1-Year Return After: +23.19%
   • 3-Year Return: +11.59%
   • 5-Year Return: +13.03%
2. March 16, 2020 – COVID-19 Pandemic
   • One-Day Decline: -11.98%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 18
   • 1-Year Return After: +66.07%
   • 3-Year Return: +18.41%
   • 5-Year Return: +18.77%
3. March 12, 2020 – COVID-19 Pandemic
   • One-Day Decline: -9.51%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 20
   • 1-Year Return After: +58.96%
   • 3-Year Return: +15.91%
   • 5-Year Return: +17.69%
4. October 15, 2008 – Global Financial Crisis
   • One-Day Decline: -9.04%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 15
   • 1-Year Return After: +20.79%
   • 3-Year Return: +10.50%
   • 5-Year Return: +13.34%
5. December 1, 2008 – Global Financial Crisis
   • One-Day Decline: -8.93%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 6
   • 1-Year Return After: +35.85%
   • 3-Year Return: +15.11%
   • 5-Year Return: +17.22%
6. September 29, 2008 – Global Financial Crisis
   • One-Day Decline: -8.79%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 410
   • 1-Year Return After: -4.14%
   • 3-Year Return: +1.60%
   • 5-Year Return: +8.87%
7. October 26, 1987 – Black Monday Aftershock
   • One-Day Decline: -8.28%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 5
   • 1-Year Return After: +23.59%
   • 3-Year Return: +10.20%
   • 5-Year Return: +12.92%
8. October 9, 2008 – Global Financial Crisis
   • One-Day Decline: -7.62%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 3
   • 1-Year Return After: +17.76%
   • 3-Year Return: +8.30%
   • 5-Year Return: +12.73%
9. March 9, 2020 – COVID-19 Pandemic
   • One-Day Decline: -7.60%
   • Days to Recover Previous High: 57
   • 1-Year Return After: +41.10%
   • 3-Year Return: +12.58%
   • 5-Year Return: +16.01%
10. October 27, 1997 – Asian Financial Crisis
    • One-Day Decline: -6.87%
    • Days to Recover Previous High: 8
    • 1-Year Return After: +21.48%
    • 3-Year Return: +16.30%
    • 5-Year Return: +0.47%

Takeaways:

1. The S&P 500 often recovers quickly after a crash. Since its inception, there is only one crash on record that took longer than one year to recover (the Global Financial Crisis).
2. Wealth Creating Opportunity: The average one-year return after each crash is over 30% which well outperforms the average of ~10.4%.