Stock futures bounced on Tuesday in a slight reprieve from the market turmoil sparked by President Donald Trump's tariff rollout that led to the biggest equity losses since the pandemic.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rebounded 1,096 points, or 2.9%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were up around 2.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 2.2%.

The moves come after three days of steep losses and violent volatility. Monday marked the highest trading volume for U.S. markets in at least 18 years at roughly 29 billion shares. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,700 points at one point in the session. Between the day's highs and lows, the index swung 2,595 points. The blue-chip index ultimately closed 349 points, or 0.9%, lower.

The S&P 500 briefly entered bear market territory at the lows of Monday's session, down more than 20% from its record, before rebounding slightly and finishing the session slightly lower. The benchmark lost 10% in two days to end last week, its worst losses since 2020 during the outbreak of Covid, as investors fear Trump's shockingly high tariff rates on most of the world will lead to a recession.

There was little fundamental reason apparent for the bounce Tuesday with more dire trade news overnight. China said it will "fight to the end" after Trump said Monday the U.S. would slap an additional 50% tariff on China if the country follows through with its 34% retaliation.

"It looks as if investors are reloading on the long side following yesterday's dramatic market action which appeared to round off a frenetic sell-off," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

However, "in the absence of some tariff clarity and defined purpose from the White House, and soon, the Trump administration is in great danger of losing control. If markets perceive this, which they are close to doing, then the derisking will continue," Morrison said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that China's escalation was a "big mistake," adding that the country was "playing with a pair of twos." He added that around 70 countries had approached the U.S. for tariff negotiations.

The CBOE Volatility Index – known as Wall Street's so-called fear gauge – spiked to about 60 on Monday, an extreme level that could signal a technical bounce was due.

There was some light buying in the premarket of some beaten-up tech shares. Nvidia and Amazon were both up 2% apiece, while Apple gained 1%.