The markets are slowly recovering after a widespread sell-off on Monday which saw the S&P 500 plunge to below its 200-day moving average in a gloomy morning start which was the worst second-quarter kick-off since the Great Depression.

The S&P 500 closed on Monday at 2581.882, eight points lower than the 2,589 average it has maintained for the last 200 days and reaching its third lowest close of 2018.

The sharp 2.2 percent decline is the worst since 2.5 percent decline 89 years ago and is a sign that more grief is in store, at least temporarily.

'We've broken it, and we're sitting below it, which shows real selling, and the longer we stay below, the more probability we at least test the Feb. 9 low at 2,530-ish,' Scott Redler, partner with T3Live.com, told CNBC.

On Tuesday, it had recovered, gaining 10 points to open at 2,592.17.

The Dow, which also plummeted on Monday, was also recovering.

The S&P 500 slowly recovered on Tuesday (right) after falling below its 200 day moving average of 2,589 on Monday (left)

The Dow showed similar signs of recovery on Tuesday (right) after a disastrous Monday (left)

Among the sectors which suffered the greatest on Monday was technology.

Amazon's NASDAQ share price fell by 5.21 per cent to $1,371.99, the lowest it has been since February 9 when there was widespread Wall Street disruption.

The latest decline followed an attack from President Trump on Twitter on Sunday.

Intel also suffered (-6.07 percent) and Facebook (-2.275 percent) is still a long drop from its pre-Cambridge Analytica scandal high.

The Dow was also down. It closed at 23,644.19, 1.9 percent lower than on Friday and its second lowest this year.

The turn cannot be attributed to industry alone and is, according to experts, an American problem.

'If I look at the global markets, it's really just the U.S. falling apart.

'It feels to me it's a U.S.-concentrated thing, which makes me think it's not as much related to trade as it is to technology and maybe regulatory headaches for some businesses coming out of D.C,' Jeff Kleintop, chief global investment strategist with Charles Schwab, told CNBC.

His expertise correlates with Trump's latest proclamation to change the 'unlevel playing field' between tech giants and brick-and-mortar businesses.

On Sunday, the president tweeted: 'Only fools, or worse, are saying that our money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon.

'THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed.

'Also, our fully tax paying retailers are closing stores all over the country...not a level playing field!'

According to a source cited by Vanity Fair, the president is determined to cause Amazon, and more importantly its CEO Jeff Bezos, grief.

'He gets obsessed with something, and now he’s obsessed with Bezos. Trump is like,. "How can I f*** with him?' they said.

Amazon continued to plunge as it reeled from the latest attack by Trump who, sources say, is 'obsessed' with tanking the tech giant

Sources say Trump is hell-bent on causing chaos for Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, a long-term foe who the president is reportedly now determined on 'f****** with'

In the past week, the president has hit out twice at Amazon on Twitter and wiped $60billion from its value

Since last week, when it was claimed Trump wanted to 'go after' Bezos with antitrust and monopoly laws, the company has lost $60billion in value.

Facebook is still struggling to recover from the disastrous revelations about its handling of user data which emerged earlier this month.

Mark Zuckerberg was forced to apologize after days of deafening silence when it was revealed that a now outdated 2014 Facebook policy had allowed Cambridge Analytica, a private data-firm hired by the Trump campaign, to improperly obtain user information.

While Facebook claimed to have been deceived and victimized by the person who gave it to Cambridge Analytica, it faced the wrath of millions of users previously had no idea their information could be shared and spread so easily.

Its current share price of $ 155.39 is 20 percent lower than its February high of $193.09.

Overall, the past three months have brought back a volatility to the market that had been absent over several months of fast gains and record highs.

It does not, however, signal any looming catastrophe for the market.

Facebook is still a long way from recovery after the fall out over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal earlier this month

Scandal-hit Facebook is also struggling. Pictured is CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Another contributor to the falling market is the recent imposition of tariffs on 128 US products by Chinese president Xi Jinping

Experts are confident the current sell-off is not indicative of a bear market and that part of the reason it is falling is the looming earnings season which is stopping companies from issuing buybacks.

The first earnings reports will emerge next week.

'We might feel the impact of no buyback. Today is kind of the first day they go away,' Kleintop added.

They believe reports will show increased earnings and that this in turn will reboot the markets.

'Volatility is driven by the combination of fears of a trade war and problems with technology and other things, including possible problems with Korea.

'This is normal. This is the way the market normally behaves.

'It's not a surprise, but at the end of the day it's got to be earnings that drive the market this year,' Ed Keon, portfolio manager at QMA, added.

Another contributor to the falling market is the recent imposition of tariffs on 128 US products by Chinese president Xi Jinping.

His decision to slap the steep tariffs on products was in retaliation to Trump doing it to him weeks earlier.

