North American markets tumbled Tuesday after the Shanghai composite index declined about 9%.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down at 13,040, a loss of 364 points—the biggest drop in almost three years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 416 points to finish at 12,216. That decline was the largest since Sept. 17, 2001, which was the first day of trading after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, U.S. bonds had one of their biggest rallies in nearly a decade.

On Wednesday, the Nikkei 225-average opened down more than 700 points, but pared some of its losses, falling 515 points to close at 17,604.

To comment on this story email craig.sebastiano@rci.rogers.com.