Which index lost about 45% during Hong Kong’s 1997 stock-market crash?

The Hang Seng Index lost about 45 percent during Hong Kong’s 1997 stock-market crash.

Hong Kong’s market fell sharply during the Asian financial crisis, which began with pressure on Thailand’s baht and spread through several Asian economies. Investors withdrew capital, currencies weakened, and concerns grew about corporate debt, banking systems, and economic growth.

The Hang Seng Index is a capitalization-weighted benchmark of major companies listed in Hong Kong. Its steep decline reflected both regional contagion and worries specific to Hong Kong’s highly valued property and equity markets. The territory’s currency remained linked to the U.S. dollar, limiting its ability to adjust through devaluation.

The 1997 crisis is broader than Hong Kong’s stock-market fall. Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies experienced different combinations of currency, banking, and equity-market stress. The Hang Seng figure is therefore a market statistic within the wider crisis, not a measure of every Asian market.