The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied late Thursday to close up 260 points after falling by as many as 650 points earlier in the day.

The gain comes just one day after a historic rally of more than 1,000 points.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Dow erased a steep plunge by Thursday’s closing bell, a day after the index rose 1,086 points— the most ever gained in a single day of trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also closed 0.9 and 0.4 percent higher, respectively, after falling more than 2 percent each at the start of trading on Thursday.

U.S. stocks still remain on track for their worst December since 1931 as turmoil from a partial government shutdown, President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE’s escalating attacks on the Federal Reserve and the rising costs of global trade tensions have driven the market down. Wall Street also fears a possible economic slowdown over fears of waning global growth.

Shares of major tech companies and industrial bellwethers had fallen sharply Thursday while the consumer goods, energy and communications sectors also took heavy losses.

Thursday’s wild swing was the latest twist in a week of whiplash for Wall Street. The Dow suffered its worst-ever Christmas Eve losses on Monday, was closed Tuesday for Christmas and enjoyed historic gains on Wednesday.

The stock market is set to finish 2018 in the red and with House GOP leaders announcing Thursday that there will be no votes for the rest of the week, meaning the government shutdown will likely continue into the new year, the market faces a daunting start to 2019.

Trump also faces a March 1 "hard deadline" to strike a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping and is seeking congressional approval for his renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.