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New York - The tech-rich Nasdaq poked into positive territory early on Tuesday as US stocks sought to overcome a negative tide that started with a dive in Japanese stocks.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Nasdaq Composite Index stood at 4 923.36, up 9.61 points (0.22%).
Sharply paring opening losses, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.54 (0.20%) to 15 995.51, while the broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.33 (0.13%) to 1 851.11.
Wall Street stocks had opened in negative territory and appeared to be heading for another ugly session after Monday's rout as US oil prices fell.
But technology stocks turned a corner soon after the open, with Facebook climbing 2.2% and Amazon 1.5%.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei index plunged 5.4% as the yen advanced and Japanese government bond yields turned negative as fears over the state of the global economy fuelled a rush to safe investments.
Bourses in London, Paris and Frankfurt remained in negative territory, but were well above their session lows.
Dow member Coca-Cola rose 0.2% after posting a 60.6% rise in fourth-quarter profit to $1.2bn behind higher volumes and pricing.
Media company Viacom sank 8.7% on a 10.2% drop in first-quarter earnings to $449m in results that fell short of expectations. Chief executive Philippe Dauman said the earnings reflect an adaptation to "significant industry disruption" and that results would soon improve.
Twenty-First Century Fox fell 0.3% after it lowered its annual sales forecast due to the strong dollar and a disappointing performance in its movie division.
CVS Health gained 0.4% as it reported fourth-quarter net income rose 13.4% to $1.5bn.
Electricity transmission company ITC Holdings fell 1.1% on news it agreed to be acquired by Canadian utility Fortis for $6.9bn.
