What 2015 event saw China’s Shanghai Composite fall by more than 40% from its June peak?

The 2015 event in which China’s Shanghai Composite fell by more than 40% from its June peak was the 2015 Chinese stock-market crash.

Chinese mainland shares had surged in the year before June 2015, helped by margin lending and strong participation from individual investors. The Shanghai Composite reached 5,178.19 on 12 June 2015. It then entered a steep decline, and the government introduced measures intended to stabilize prices and limit forced selling.

The turbulence intensified during the summer. On 24 August 2015, often called Black Monday in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 8.49%, while markets around the world also dropped amid concerns about China’s economy and global growth.

The episode is sometimes confused with China’s 2016 trading halts, but those were a later response to another selloff. The 2015 crash centered on the unwinding of leveraged positions and a sharp reversal in speculative demand.