The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29 points, or 0.2%, to 16,627 as of 12:38 p.m. Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.8 percent, jumping for a second day.

Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 stock futures were all off about 1%.

Stock markets around the world had tumbled earlier in the week as a slump in Shanghai shares fueled worries over China’s economic health, but some calm returned after Beijing rolled out strong policy easing steps late on Tuesday. Investors are trying to figure out just how badly China’s economy is doing – and how much it will reverberate elsewhere. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 5.3 percent, its first gain in six days.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is not attending, but her deputy, Stanley Fischer, will make keynote remarks on Saturday that could point to whether the central bank believes the global turmoil is severe enough to hold off on a long-expected hike in interest rates.

All of this would not have been possible if a key Federal Reserve official had not hinted that, considering the recent market turmoil, a September rate increase by the US had become less likely. The market then rebounded sharply as investors chose to scoop up bargains.

Across the Atlantic, markets hit the skids after rallying strongly yesterday in response to China’s stimulus announcement, concerns about future growth in China and a big commodities sell-off rattled investors.

The report gave investors comfort that the global economy isn’t headed for the kind of downturn that could lead into a recession, said Lyon.

“If you panicked and you sold”, said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, “it probably will take months, if not years, to recover what you’ve lost in the process”.

COPPER-BOTTOMED: Freeport-McMoRan notched the biggest gain in the index. The stock rose 34 cents to $10.54, adding to a strong gain on Thursday when the company said announced cost cuts and lower spending in response to declining copper prices.

China’s surprise currency devaluation on August. 11 and a survey showing deteriorating factory activity had help trigger a savage selling spree, which at one point drove stocks down more than 20 percent within a week.

Markets overseas also mounted rallies. Top-traded Ayala Land was up 3.30 percent to 35.95 pesos, while Philippine Long Distance Telephone was down 1.33 percent to 2,518 pesos. Singapore Telecom fell 1.3 percent to Sg$3.80.

Still, the Dow remains down 8.6 percent this year, while the S&P 500 is off 5.8 percent.

In other Asian stock trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 2.9 percent to 21,697.31 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 1.1 percent to 18,574.44. Later on, domestic economic updates spurred the U.S. market’s recovery.

The gold price also continues to fall, the spot price was down to $US1,124.60. Silver rose 37.60 cents to $14.42 an ounce. The stock gained $13.09 to $134.38. On currency markets, the dollar was trading around one-week highs against the euro and the yen.