Financial markets around the globe are falling. Here's what to know about how we got here

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Markets on Wall Street and around the world are in a mini-panic

NEW YORK — Markets on Wall Street and around the world are in a mini-panic. Worried about a slowing U.S. economy, investors sent the market in Japan to its worst day in decades and have sliced billions in market value off some of the world’s biggest technology companies. They’ve turned a relatively calm year in markets on its head.

For most of the year, investors worldwide drove stock markets higher, convinced that central banks were successfully, if haltingly, getting inflation under control, and buoyed by a healthy U.S. economy and the promise of artificial intelligence.

That confidence has taken a hit the past few days. Weak readings on the job market, manufacturing and construction last week sparked worries about a U.S. economic slowdown and criticism that the Federal Reserve waited too long to cut rates. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan raised rates, causing turmoil in Japan’s markets. On Monday, the Nikkei plunged more than 12%, its worst drop since 1987.

Investors are now listening to warnings that Apple, Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks have gotten too expensive. On Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite went into a correction, which is a 10% decline from its most recent high. It dropped an additional 3,4% Monday.

Traders in the U.S. are betting the Federal Reserve will lower rates by half a percentage point in September instead of the usual quarter point. Some are calling for an emergency rate cut. The heaviest selling has been in small companies that make most if not all their sales and profits in the U.S. Prices for oil and other commodities fell because of the economic worries.

However, there are opposing voices saying the sell-off is a good thing