NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Dow traded in a near-1,000 point range in early trading on Tuesday, as it tried to recover from steep sell-off in the previous session.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 500 points at the open, rebounded shortly afterwards to a 1 percent gain and then dipped 0.74 percent before it went back to green territory, up about 0.05 percent.

Both S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite opened lower at the open and then rose quickly to gain more than 1 percent before declining again. The S&P 500 declined 0.14 percent while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.06 percent.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that the Treasury is monitoring the volatile markets, but they appear to function normally.

He added the investors should focus on the long-term prospects of U.S. equities, which is one of the best investments people can have.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, stood at 42.84. The index surged by 115.6 percent on Monday to 37.22. It rose to as high as 50.30 on Tuesday morning, the highest level since August 2015.

U.S. stocks plunged Monday, extending a steep sell-off from the previous session, amid increasing concerns that rising inflation will force interest rates higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummet nearly 1,600 points briefly in late trading, marking the worst intraday fall in market history. The index settled 1,175.21 points, or 4.60 percent lower while the S&P 500 slumped 4.10 percent on Monday, both erasing 2018's gains.

As market analysts have pointed out, Monday's slide was not caused by anything fundamental. Instead, the investors' move to lock in profits and possibly some computer-programmed trading, combined with concerns about interest rates, have sent the equities into correction territory.

Monday's sell-off followed that of the previous session, during which the Dow slumped over 650 points.

On Friday, investors worried that the Federal Reserve may hike rates on a faster pace after an upbeat jobs report.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 in January, beating market consensus, and the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Average hourly earnings posted a 0.3 percent gain for the month and an annualized gain of 2.9 percent.

The data sent interest rates higher. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to as high as 2.85 percent, a four-year high, putting pressure on the stocks. The 30-year yield rose to its highest level since March.

On Tuesday, U.S. government debt prices fell as investors cautiously moved money back into equities.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.764 percent while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was lower at 3.054 percent. Enditem