Which market crash followed the 1997 devaluation of Thailand's baht and spread across East Asia?

The Asian financial crisis followed Thailand's devaluation of the baht in 1997 and spread across East Asia.

Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate policy on July 2, 1997, allowing the baht to float after intense pressure on the country's foreign-exchange reserves. The currency then fell sharply. Investors reassessed other economies with high foreign-currency debts, weak financial institutions, property bubbles, or heavily managed exchange rates.

The turmoil spread to Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines, among other economies. Stock markets and currencies declined, companies struggled to repay dollar-denominated loans, and several countries sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund. The crisis also affected Hong Kong and contributed to wider global market anxiety.

The event is often called the Asian financial crisis, although it was not a single stock-market crash on one day. It was a regional financial and currency crisis in which falling exchange rates, credit stress, corporate failures, and equity-market losses reinforced one another.