What nickname is given to the 1997 stock-market crisis that spread across East and Southeast Asia?

The 1997 stock-market crisis that spread across East and Southeast Asia is called the Asian financial crisis.

The crisis began in Thailand after pressure on the baht forced the government to abandon its currency peg to the U.S. dollar on 2 July 1997. The baht depreciated sharply, and investors then reassessed other economies with high foreign-currency debt, property speculation, weak financial supervision, or fixed exchange rates.

Contagion reached Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and several other markets. Stock prices and currencies fell, companies struggled to repay dollar-denominated loans, and banking systems came under severe pressure. The International Monetary Fund organized rescue programs for Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea, although the conditions attached to those programs remain debated.

The crisis was not simply a stock-market event: currency devaluations and banking failures intensified the equity sell-off. Hong Kong defended its currency peg in 1998, while Japan experienced a separate but related banking and market downturn. Russia’s 1998 default and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management followed as wider global consequences.