Japan’s Nikkei 225 index falls by almost 13% as concerns about the US economy cause global markets to quake.

Monday saw a roughly 13% decline in Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index, continuing sell-offs that rattled global markets last week as concerns about the health of the US economy grew.


The Nikkei was down more than 4,500 points at 31,341.29 close to Tokyo closing time. The afternoon selling intensified, causing an 11.5% decline in the market’s overall TOPIX index.


Financial markets have been rocked by a report indicating that hiring by U.S. firms slowed last month by a significant amount, surpassing the expectations that had driven the Nikkei to record highs of over 42,000 in recent weeks.


The Nikkei 225 is on track for its worst two-day slump ever after falling 5.8% on Friday. A drop of 3,836 points, or 14.9%, on a day known as “Black Monday” in October 1987 was its worst single-day performance. Tokyo stock prices have decreased following the Bank of Japan’s Wednesday increase in its benchmark interest rate. Now, the Nikkei is 4.3% lower than it was a year ago.