Which 1997 regional financial crisis caused stock markets across East and Southeast Asia to plunge?

The Asian financial crisis caused stock markets across East and Southeast Asia to plunge in 1997 and 1998.

The crisis began in Thailand after pressure on the baht forced the country to abandon its currency peg to the U.S. dollar on July 2, 1997. Investors then reassessed other economies with high foreign-currency debts, property bubbles, weak banking systems, or large current-account deficits.

Currencies and equity markets fell across countries including Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. International Monetary Fund rescue programs were arranged for several affected economies, while Indonesia experienced especially severe political and economic disruption.

The crisis was not simply a stock-market event: currency devaluations and banking failures were central. Hong Kong’s market turmoil in October 1997 formed part of the wider regional shock. The Latin American debt crisis began in the 1980s and had different origins.