Dow drops 1,000 points and Japanese stocks suffer worst crash since 1987

Specialist Dilip Patel on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday (Richard Drew/AP)

A scary Monday that started with a plunge abroad reminiscent of 1987’s crash swept around the world and pummelled Wall Street with more steep losses, as fears worsened about a slowing US 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%.