U.S. stocks just had their worst quarter since the financial crisis

The major U.S. indexes weren't as volatile as they've been recently by the time markets closed Tuesday, but stocks still capped off their worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 finished the quarter down 20 percent, its largest decline since 2008, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 23 percent. You'd have to go back to 1987 and the Black Monday era to find a lower point for the index. The downturn, unsurprisingly, was global in scope — Stoxx Europe 600 had its biggest quarterly drop since 2002, and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell to 2008 levels, as well.

Analysts are hoping the long-term consequences more closely resemble 1987, which allowed for a quicker recovery. Still, Shawn Snyder, the head of investment strategy at Citi Personal Wealth Management, told The Wall Street Journal "we're really in unprecedented territory" where "there's still a huge amount of uncertainty." Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

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