The S&P 500 on Friday briefly entered bear market territory, a term that means that an index has dropped by at least 20% from a recent high. After recovering slightly Friday afternoon, the S&P 500 has fallen just under 19% since the start of the year, its most recent peak.
The most recent bear market was during the massive plunge at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Before the pandemic, the last time the economy experienced a bear market was during the financial crisis more than a decade ago. That bear market lasted for a brutal 517 days.
