Dow fell more than 600 points from day’s peak

The Dow was up 332 points, or 2 percent, to 16,203 as of 11 a.m., while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 42 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,936.

The boarder S&P 500 rose 73 points on Wednesday to 1,941.

The massive selloff, which kicked into high gear last week when the Dow tumbled more than 1,000 points and sank into official correction territory.

U.S. Treasurys surged as investors bought less risky assets.

Traders Fred DeMarco, left, and Kevin Lodewick, right, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday.

“If you lived through the 2008, early-2009 debacle, which was awful, you know that it can recover in a relatively short period of time”, said John Power, a financial planner at Power Plans in Walpole, Massachusetts. But a wave of buying by bargain-hunters cut the Dow’s losses by half just five minutes later.

China’s central bank took action hours after the country’s main stock index closed sharply lower for a fourth day. A big sell-off in Chinese stock on Monday caused the rout to continue.

One way to reassure investors, analysts said, would be to show support for the economy by cutting interest rates or freeing up money for lending by reducing the level of reserves banks are required to hold. Despite blaming himself for his greed, he can’t contain a hint of bitterness at what he sees as “contradictory” government policy behind the market’s slide. The 10 sectors in the S&P 500 headed lower, with energy stocks notching the biggest decline, 2.8 percent. Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 advanced 2.7%. But he noted that when global stock markets fell Monday there was no talk of intervention by other governments. The euro slipped to $1.1363 from $1.1524.

“That always leads to a bounce or spike in the market“, said Quincy Krosby, market strategist for Prudential Financial. Six years later, Fidelity Investments’ 401(k) accounts had an average balance of $91,800 as of the end of March – almost double. He noted that in April, People’s Daily was among the party-run news outlets encouraging investors to buy stocks.

Oil rebounded some from Monday’s steep declines.

Following a six-year run-up in U.S. stocks that has pushed major indexes to all-time highs, investors worry the economy could falter if the Fed raises rates too soon. It fell 87 cents a barrel on Friday. U.S. oil fell 71 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $38.60. Currencies fell hard in developing economies – particularly those that rely heavily on the export of commodities and oil, both of which China is a big consumer.

“None of it is working and they’re getting desperate”, Wilson said. “This is more of a stimulative event for the global economy”.

Earlier this week China sought to calm turmoil in global markets by slashing interest rates.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX stock index fell 4.7 percent, while the CAC-40 in France slid 5.4 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 3.2 percent. The Nasdaq composite gained 191 points, or 4.2 percent, to 4,697. The benchmark has lost all of its gains for 2015, though it is still more than 40 percent above its level a year ago.

Underlying the gloom in China is the growing conviction that policymakers and regulators may lack the means to stem the losses in that nation.

“The reserves requirement really unleashes a lot of liquidity into the markets”, Gaffney said.

In currency markets, the dollar rose to 119.66 yen from Monday’s 118.69 yen. Cameron rose $17.46 to $59.93.