Japan’s Nikkei index sustained major losses during Tuesday’s trading session, a sign that Monday’s sell-off in Europe and the U.S. will extend for another day across the globe.

The Nikkei lost a staggering 918 points, or 5.40 percent, at the closing bell, finishing at 16,085 points. It was the Nikkei’s biggest drop since June 2013, as investors fled stocks into safe assets as government bonds over fears of a rising yen —  which makes Japanese exports more expensive on the global markets — plus slowing economic growth in China and a never-ending drop in global oil prices. Meanwhile, yields on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond dropped below zero for the first-time ever.

Australia’s main S&P/ASX 200 index dropped almost three percent to close at 4,832.

Many other Asian indexes were closed Tuesday for the Lunar New Year, including Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul.

Monday was a rough day for investors, with the benchmark indexes in Paris, Frankfurt and London all falling as much as three percent.  In New York, the NASDAQ slid 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 1.4 percent, and the Dow lost 1.1 percent.

The current state of the U.S. economy, as well as the outlook for interest rate increases, growth and unemployment, are on the agenda Wednesday and Thursday when Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before key congressional committees. 

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also will speak to members of Congress about President Barack Obama’s budget and other economic issues this week.

In the meantime, investors will be assessing new data on retail sales, unemployment insurance claims and consumer sentiment.
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