Which index fell 8.5% on August 24, 2015, during China’s stock-market turmoil?

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5% on August 24, 2015, during China’s stock-market turmoil.

The Shanghai Composite tracks shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and became a central indicator during China’s 2015 market sell-off. The index had surged in the preceding year, helped by easier credit and enthusiasm among retail investors, before falling sharply in the summer of 2015.

August 24 became known internationally as “Black Monday” because several global markets also dropped. Concerns included slowing Chinese economic growth, high valuations, leveraged trading, and uncertainty over government measures such as currency policy and market support. The decline was not confined to mainland China; commodity and emerging-market prices were also pressured.

The Shanghai Composite is not the same as China’s entire stock market. The Shenzhen market and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index represent different exchanges and groups of companies. Confusing those indexes can produce a wrong answer even when discussing the same period of turbulence.