U.S. stocks posted sharp gains in another wild trading session on Tuesday, as indexes rebounded from the biggest one-day drops for the S&P 500 and the Dow in more than six years that had stalled the market's record run on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 569.32 points, or 2.34 percent, to 24,915.07, the S&P 500 gained 46.31 points, or 1.75 percent, to 2,695.25 and the Nasdaq Composite added 148.36 points, or 2.13 percent, to 7,115.88. 

Canada's main stock index reversed course and closed higher on Tuesday.

At 4:07 p.m., the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 29.12 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 15,363.93. 

U.S. MARKETS

Stocks swung from negative to positive after indexes started the session 2 per cent lower, underscoring a return of volatility to a market that until recently was marked by an absence of major shifts. The Dow had a more than 1,100-point difference between its high and low on Tuesday.

The sharp declines in recent days marked a pullback that had been long awaited by investors after the market minted record high after record high in a relatively calm ascent.

"Despite violent moves in the last couple days in the market, fundamentals in the economy are very strong and itRs not just the U.S., it's throughout the global economy," said Alicia Levine, head of global investment strategy at BNY Mellon Investment Management in New York.

Technology, materials and consumer discretionary were the top-performing sectors on Tuesday. Defensive sectors utilities and real estate were the only major S&P groups to end negative.

CANADIAN MARKETS

The largest percentage gainer was cannabis company Canopy Growth Co (WEED.TO), which rose 19 per cent. The biggest decliner was Element Fleet Management Corp (EFN.TO), a provider of services and financing for commercial vehicle fleets, which fell 29 per cent after issuing a profit warning on Monday.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.2 per cent. The energy and industrials sectors each gained 0.4 per cent.

Of the index's 10 main groups seven were in positive territory.

Gold futures fell 0.9 per cent to US$1,321.1 an ounce, weighing on some mining stocks.

Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO) was down 8.1 per cent, Klondex Mines (KDX.TO) fell 7.4 per cent, and B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO) fell 5.1 per cent.

The index posted one new 52-week high and 42 new lows.