SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - U.S. stocks gyrated again on Tuesday with the major indices plunging before bouncing back. Nonetheless, it was a grim finish as investors fretted over the Federal Reserve meeting and geopolitical flashpoints in Ukraine and Taiwan.

"Uncertainty is what's behind it all," Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut told Reuters Tuesday.

"In that uncertainly the market becomes a flock of sheep. Selling begets more selling, and it's driven by the Fed, inflation, and geopolitical tensions."

"Hopefully we'll get clarity on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve, although I think we'll end up with more questions than answers about where the Fed is likely to take interest rates in 2022," Pavlik said.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 315.86 points or 2.28 percent to close Tuesday at 13,539.29.

The Dow Jones industrials fell 66.77 points or 0.19 percent to 34,197.73.

The Standard and Poor's 500 declined 53.68 points or 1.22 percent to 4,356.45.

The U.S. dollar continued to demand most attention on foreign exchange markets, although its gains were trimmed towards the New York close Tuesday.

The euro managed to hold on to the 1.1300 mantle, despite dipping earlier. It finished the day around 1.1302. The British pound edged down to 1.3500. The Japanese yen weakened to 113.89. The Swiss franc was friendless at 0.9181.

The Canadian dollar eased to 1.2619. The Australian dollar last traded Tuesday at 0.7156. The New Zealand dollar was weaker at 0.6687.

On overseas equity markets, the FTSE 100 in London gained 1.02 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 added 0.74 percent. The Greman Dax advanced 0.75 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 sank 1.66 percent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was off 1.67 percent. China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 2.58 percent. Australia's All Ordinaries was down 2.60 percent.