U.S. stocks went on a wild ride Tuesday as traders debated the impact of emails released by Donald Trump Jr.

The Dow Jones industrial average initially fell 100 points on concerns the Russia controversy that's plagued President Donald Trump's presidency will worsen.

The email chain that led to the controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer offered "high level and sensitive information" that would incriminate Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government's support for his father's presidential campaign.

"Each time something like this happens it gets you further away from policy reform", said Ian Winer, head of equities at Wedbush. "The emails that Donald Trump Jr. posted to Twitter which confirms he was being told the Russian government was supporting his dad and they had damaging emails on Hillary and he was very excited to meet with them. Bottom line is I think it's just one more headline and helps support this negative narrative with ... the Russians."

The U.S. dollar fell and hit its weakest level on the day against the euro. Gold futures spiked, while Treasury yields edged lower.

However, the major stock indexes recovered. The Nasdaq composite closed 0.3 percent higher at 6,193.30. The Dow closed just above breakeven at 21,409.07, up 0.55 points.

"People just got spooked by that. Selling begot more selling," said Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities. "This isn't anything we didn't know."

Dow Jones industrial average Tuesday intraday performance

Source: FactSet

Strategists noted market moves were likely exaggerated due to the summer season's lighter trade volumes. Traders also awaited Fed Chair Janet Yellen's testimony scheduled for Wednesday.

Advancers led decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 774.77 million and a composite volume of 3.04 billion at the close.

Financials led decliners on the S&P 500, which closed 0.1 percent lower at 2,425.53 . Boeing contributed the most to gains in the Dow, while 3M was among those with the greatest negative impact.