Japanese stocks plunge, bond yields fall below zero

Japanese stocks plunged on Tuesday as the yen surged to the highest level against the dollar in more than a year.

The Topix index sank 5.5 percent while the Nikkei 225 lost 5.4 percent, its biggest decline since June 2013.

However, US stocks finished flat after a volatile session while the STOXX Europe 600 fell 1.6 percent, its seventh consecutive decline.

There were signs of stress in other markets.

US oil futures plunged 5.9 percent.

Japan’s 10-year bond yield fell as low as minus 0.035 percent, its lowest ever.

Indeed, about 29 percent of the debt in the Bloomberg Global Developed Sovereign Bond Index yields less than zero.