(CNN) -- Japanese stocks closed down 10.55 percent, recovering from deeper losses earlier in the session, as the nation grappled with a crisis at an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant and the aftermath of last week's earthquake and tsunami.
It was the third steepest percentage fall in the Nikkei's history.
At one point, the Nikkei plunged more than 1,390 points, or more than 14 percent, nearing the worst-ever plunge of 14.90 percent on October 20, 1987, after the U.S. stock market crash on Black Monday.
The close at 8,605.15, combined with the 6.2 percent drop on Monday, the first full trading day after the quake, marked a nearly 17 percent drop in two days. CNN
