Dow drops 1,000 points, and Japanese stocks suffer worst crash since 1987 as markets quake worldwide

NEW YORK (AP) — A scary Monday that started with a plunge abroad reminiscent of 1987 ’s crash swept around the world and pummeled Wall Street with more steep losses, as fears worsened about a slowing U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 dropped 3% for its worst day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reeled by 1,033 points, or 2.6%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 3.4% as Apple, Nvidia and other Big Tech companies that used to be the stars of the stock market continued to wilt.

The drops were the latest in a global sell-off that began last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped begin Monday by plunging 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

It was the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to Friday’s report showing U.S. employers slowed their hiring last month by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the U.S. economy to come in weaker than expected, and it’s all raised fear the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation.

Professional investors cautioned that some technical factors could be amplifying the action in markets, and that the drops may be overdone, but the losses were still neck-snapping. South Korea’s Kospi index careened 8.8% lower, and bitcoin dropped below $54,000 from more than $61,000 on Friday.

Even gold, which has a reputation for offering safety during tumultuous times, slipped about 1%.

That’s in part because traders began wondering if the damage has been so severe that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates in an emergency meeting, before its next scheduled decision on Sept. 18. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, briefly sank below 3.70% during the morning from 3.88% late Friday and from 5% in April. It later recovered and pulled back to 3.89%.

“The Fed could ride in on a white horse to save the day with a big rate cut, but the case for an inter-meeting cut seems flimsy,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “Those are usually reserved for emergencies, like COVID, and an unemployment rate of 4.3% doesn’t really seem like an emergency.”

Of course, the U.S. economy is still growing, the U.S. stock market is still up a healthy amount for the year and a recession is far from a certainty. The Fed has been clear about the tightrope it began walking when it started hiking rates sharply in March 2022: Being too aggressive would choke the economy, but going too soft would give inflation more oxygen and hurt everyone.

Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle sees a higher chance of a recession within the next 12 months following Friday’s jobs report. But he still sees only a 25% probability of that, up from 15%, in part “because the data look fine overall” and he does not “see major financial imbalances.”

Some of Wall Street’s recent declines may simply be air coming out of a stock market that romped to dozens of all-time highs this year, in part on a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Critics have been saying for a while that the stock market looked expensive after prices rose faster than corporate profits.

“Markets tend to move higher like they’re climbing stairs, and they go down like they’re falling out a window,” according to JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG North America. He chalks much of the recent worries to euphoria around AI subsiding, with pressure rising on companies to show how AI is turning into profits, and “a market that was ahead of itself.”

The only way for stocks to look less expensive is either for prices to fall or for their profits to strengthen. Expectations are still high for the latter, with growth for S&P 500 profits this past quarter looking to be the strongest since 2021.

Professional investors also pointed to the Bank of Japan’s move last week to raise its main interest rate from nearly zero. Such a move helps boost the value of the Japanese yen, but it could also force traders to scramble out of deals where they borrowed money for virtually no cost in Japan and invested it elsewhere around the world.

Treasury yields also pared their losses Monday after a report said growth for U.S. services businesses was a touch stronger than expected. Growth was led by arts, entertainment and recreation businesses, along with accommodations and food services, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

Still, stocks of companies whose profits are most closely tied to the economy’s strength took sharp losses on the fears about a slowdown. The small companies in the Russell 2000 index dropped 3.3%, washing out what had been a revival for it and other beaten-down areas of the market.

Making things worse for Wall Street, Big Tech stocks tumbled as the market’s most popular trade for much of this year continued to unravel. Apple, Nvidia and a handful of other Big Tech stocks known as the “ Magnificent Seven ” had propelled the S&P 500 to record after record this year, even as high interest rates weighed down much of the rest of the stock market.

But Big Tech’s momentum turned last month on worries investors had taken their prices too high and expectations for future growth are becoming too difficult to meet. A set of underwhelming profit reports that began with updates from Tesla and Alphabet added to the pessimism and accelerated the declines.

Apple fell 4.8% Monday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had slashed its ownership stake in the iPhone maker.

Nvidia, the chip company that’s become the poster child of Wall Street’s AI bonanza, fell even more, 6.4%. Analysts cut their profit forecasts over the weekend for the company after a report from The Information said Nvidia’s new AI chip is delayed. The recent selling has trimmed Nvidia’s gain for the year to nearly 103% from 170% in the middle of June.

Another Big Tech titan, Alphabet, fell 4.4% after a U.S. judge ruled Google’s search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 160.23 points to 5,186.33. The Dow sank 1,033.99 to 38,703.27, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 576.08 to 16,200.08.

Worries outside corporate profits, interest rates and the economy are also weighing on the market. The Israel-Hamas war may be worsening, which beyond its human toll could cause sharp swings for the price of oil. That’s adding to broader worries about potential hotspots around the world, while upcoming U.S. elections could further scramble things.

Wall Street has been concerned about how policies coming out of November could impact markets, but the sharp swings for stock prices could affect the election itself.

The threat of a recession is likely to put Vice President Kamala Harris on the defensive. But slower growth could also further reduce inflation and force former President Donald Trump to pivot from his current focus on higher prices to outlining ways to revive the economy.

“It comes down to jobs,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. Jobs drive spending by U.S. consumers, which in turn is the biggest part of the U.S. economy.

“When we get to election day, the unemployment rate is going to be extremely important.”

AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach, Matt Ott, Christopher Rugaber and Damian J. Troise contributed.

Trader James Conti on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A screen above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Michael Gagliano, left, confers with a colleague on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Leon Montana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Gregg Maloney works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Michael Milano works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NYSE President Lynn Martin watches trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, headlines trading. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Glenn Carell works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Gregory Rowe works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Dilip Patel works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

FILE - Trader John Romolo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Aug. 2, 2024. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index has lost 12.4% on Monday, August 5, 2024, in the latest bout of sell-offs that are jolting world markets. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on July 30, 2024 in New York. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index has lost 12.4% on Monday, August 5, 2024, in the latest bout of sell-offs that are jolting world markets. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A currency trader reacts near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A monitor shows the Nikkei 225 stock index in Tokyo, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, indicating at one point, over 2,537 points of lowering. (Shohei Miyano/Kyodo News via AP)

A photographer takes a photo of a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. Shares in Europe and Asia tumbled Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slumping 5.8% as investors panicked over signs of weakness in the U.S. economy. (Kyodo News via AP)

FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on July 31, 2024 in New York. World shares have tumbled on Friday, August 2, 2024, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index slumping 5.8% as investors panicked over signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.(AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A board above the trading floor shows the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, at the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. Stocks tumbled Friday on worries the U.S. economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to whip inflation.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — All of a sudden, women contacting one of the biggest sources of information about abortion in Mexico through the encrypted messaging app WhatsApp were met with silence.

The nongovernmental organization’s business account had been blocked. Weeks later, a similar digital blackout struck a collective in Colombia.

Across the Americas, organizations that guide women seeking abortions in various countries are raising alarm, decrying what they see as a new wave of censorship on platforms owned by tech giant Meta — even in countries where abortion is decriminalized. The organizations believe this is due to a combination of changes to Meta policies and attacks by anti-abortion groups that denounce their content.

While this also occurs on Instagram and Facebook, the blocking of organizations’ verified WhatsApp business accounts, which they use to communicate with people seeking help, has been particularly disruptive. These accounts are crucial for communicating with people seeking help, and their blockage has significantly complicated daily interactions between women and support providers.

Meta usually attributes its content blocking to policy violations, though it has acknowledged occasional mistakes. Since January, Meta changed the way it moderates content, now relying on user-generated notes “to allow more speech and reduce enforcement mistakes.” U.S. President Donald Trump has said the changes were “probably” made in response to his threats over what conservatives considered a liberal bias in fact-checking.

Among the organizations whose WhatsApp business accounts were suspended is the MSI Foundation (formerly Marie Stopes), part of a network working in Mexico for 25 years. Its account was suspended in February, and the Colombian group Oriéntame, or Guide Me, which has worked in women's health in Colombia for decades, was labeled by Instagram as “dangerous.”

While conservatives cheered the change in Meta moderation policies, organizations helping women who seek abortions say they often result in over-enforcement, likely driven by Artificial Intelligence, which disproportionately flags or removes their posts — obstacles that have increased since the start of the Trump administration.

“It is not always intentional censorship, but the outcome is still more censorship for us and our partners,” said Martha Dimitratou, cofounder of Repro Uncensored, an organization that monitors digital suppression of reproductive health content.

“From one day to the next they blocked communication between our users and women who need first-hand information” to address doubts or look for medical follow-up with MSI, said Araceli López-Nava, the organization’s Latin America director.

In the days after the suspension, appointments dropped 80%

López Nava said that MSI had previously faced issues with regular WhatsApp numbers, because it’s easy to file complaints. So, the organization thought it would be different with a business account, which gives them a platform to manage the thousands of messages they receive every month.

That wasn't the case. After an initial suspension, MSI's WhatsApp business account was permanently suspended two weeks later. The reason cited in Meta’s notification? “Sending spam.”

“The argument is that they’ve received complaints, but from whom?” López-Nava asked. She said the organization can’t be accused of sending spam because they only answer those who contact them and provide information in line with Mexican law. Abortion is decriminalized in Mexico at the federal level and in the majority of its 32 states.

“It looks like an orchestrated strategy to us,” López-Nava said. “And not necessarily by Meta."

Dimitratou, who is also digital strategist for Canada-based Women on Web and the U.S.-based Plan C, said cases of blocked content have increased since Trump’s election, not only in the U.S., but around the world, likely driven by anti-abortion groups.

Conservative or religious groups have a history of attempting to leverage technology companies to obstruct abortion supporters’ efforts, but the anonymity of app reporting prevents organizations from proving who is behind it.

That is why MSI and an ally NGO, Women’s Link Worldwide, have asked Meta to implement transparent mechanisms to be able to appeal the company’s decisions and to respect international human rights standards. They have not received a response.

A Meta spokesperson told The Associated Press that MSI's WhatsApp business account was blocked for valid reasons, saying that organizations receiving numerous negative comments receive warnings before suspension. Meta declined to provide details about the nature of the negative comments or comment on whether they could be coordinated by anti-abortion groups aiming to paralyze MSI.

The Instagram accounts of Women on Web United States and Women on Web Latin America were suspended right after the U.S. presidential election in November, though they were later reinstated. Dimitratou said that Meta has also limited the organization’s ability to place ads on accounts in Latin America, South Korea and West Africa.

Repro Uncensored has documented at least 60 instances of similar digital censorship since January. The most recent occurred this week, when Thailand's TamTang Group said that Facebook had accused them of violating rules on selling medicines simply for sharing information about free abortion pills provided by the Thai government.

A 2025 report by the California-based Center for Intimacy Justice, based on a survey of 159 nonprofits worldwide, found that major tech platforms were removing ads and content related to abortion and other women’s sexual and reproductive health issues like menopause.

When asked about the report, Meta downplayed its findings, noting that it was based on a small number of examples.

Tech companies often cite policies against explicit or inappropriate sexual content or the advertisement of unsafe substances, such as abortion pills, even though the World Health Organization has said they’re safe.

In April, months after Meta announced changes to ensure greater freedom of expression, Oriéntame, the Colombian collective that offers reproductive health services, posted on Instagram a drawing of a heart and the phrase “Abort without pain.” The post was blocked with the explanation: “Dangerous people and organizations, photo removed.”

While Colombia legalized abortion in 2022, Oriéntame experienced censorship of at least 14 of their posts on Instagram in April 2025. That same month, their WhatsApp business account was suspended, said Tatiana Martínez, who manages their social media. Although the WhatsApp account was restored after a week, they worry it could happen again.

A Meta spokesperson said this week that the Instagram posts were mistakenly taken down and not the result of a change in its content standards.

Oriéntame director María Vivas says the organization has been battling Google for years over online content limitations. The tech giant said in a message to the AP that it only restricts content when it violates policies. But Google keeps Colombia on the list of countries with restrictions on abortion ads — even though abortion was decriminalized there in 2022.

As for their problems with Meta, Vivas said they started in late 2024, when the company started to change some of its internal policies.

Taking legal action against tech giants, when each country has its own laws, is complicated. As a result, affected organizations have turned to creative strategies, like operating multiple backup accounts, having a substitute ready when one is blocked and reformulating language in posts to avoid censorship triggers.

“It feels like Meta is our boss,” Vivas joked about the ongoing struggle with the tech giant over the basic right to provide health information. “We live to respond to Meta, to adapt ourselves to Meta,” she said. “That's absurd.”

AP journalist Maria Cheng contributed to this report from New York.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A computer monitor shows the splash page of the MSI Foundation website with a message that reads in Spanish: "Your body, your choice, your future", during a tour of the foundation, a non-governmental agency that offers information and help to women seeking abortions, in Mexico City, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker gives a tour of the MSI Foundation, an organization that offers information and help to women seeking abortions, in Mexico City, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker gestures towards a message that reads in Spanish; "My decisions, my road, my steps" during a tour of the MSI Foundation, an organization that offers information and help to women seeking abortions, in Mexico City, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

A health worker gives a tour of the MSI Foundation, an organization that offers information and help to women seeking abortions, in Mexico City, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)