Wall Street’s second attempt at a rally lost momentum in midday action as investors digested comments from a Fed official about the outlook for short-term interest rates. 

As of 1:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238 points, or 1.51%. The S&P 500 gained 27 points, or 1.43%, while the Nasdaq rose 59 points, or 1.34%.

All 10 S&P 500 sectors were in positive territory with information technology leading the way, popping 2.08% in recent action.

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Wall Street took another try at a rally on Wednesday after strong gains from the prior session were completely wiped out in the final half hour of trading. All three major averages closed out the trading day solidly in correction territory after a 441-point rally on the Dow turned into a 200-point loss. 

To put the market’s gyrations into perspective, over the last six sessions, U.S. markets have dumped $2.1 trillion in value, notching the worst August since 1998, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Even with the strong gains early in the trading session, major U.S. averages remained in correction territory.

U.S. stock-market optimism flew in the face of a global sell off. Chinese equity markets extended a five-day losing streak despite the nation’s central bank announcing Tuesday that it would slash interest rates by 0.25%. Meanwhile the rest of the region was mixed. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.27%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.52% and Japan’s Nikkei jumped 3.20%.  

European equity markets resumed their fall after a one-day rally. The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks large-cap companies in the eurozone, dropped 1.47%. The German Dax fell 1.29%, the French CAC 40 shed 1.40%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 1.68%.

Clem Miller, portfolio manager at Wilmington Trust, said the mixed messages in the global markets is likely due to investors trying to recalibrate to changes in China and the looming decision on short-term interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

“The markets are taking a look at the overall picture and trying to decide whether this is only about China, or if it’s a broader issue and how much concern the Fed is. Data in the U.S. is looking generally positive, or at least a bulk of it is, and traders are trying to decide, too, whether there are more storm clouds ahead,” he said.

No doubt the U.S. central bank’s movements are under a microscope, especially in America, where Federal Reserve Vice Chairman William Dudley said at a press conference in New York that hiking short-term interest rates is “less compelling” than it was a few weeks ago, but it could become “more compelling” by the time of the FOMC’s September meeting.

Dudley also reiterated the Fed’s long-held view that it will remain dependent on economic data before finalizing a decision to raise rates. He acknowledged the recent volatility in the global financial markets, but said “short-term” volatility won’t have significant implications for continued economic recovery in the U.S., though a “large and prolonged” decline in the stock market could have an impact on U.S. outlook.

Durable goods data from the Commerce Department likely helped give those with a September rate-hike forecast more fuel. The July data showed orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose 2% for the month, an unexpected gain from the 0.4% drop that was forecast. Excluding the volatile transportation component, orders rose 0.6%, surpassing the 0.4% expected gain. Orders from the prior month were also revised higher.

Looking a bit on the horizon, the data picture in the U.S. will become perhaps more clear on Thursday when the second reading on second-quarter GDP is released alongside pending home sales and weekly jobless claims data.

In commodities, global oil markets found more solid footing, though prices still remained nearly six-and-a-half year lows. U.S. crude declined 0 .59% to $39.08 a barrel, while Brent, the international benchmark, ticked up 0.30% to $43.31 a barrel.

A major deal in the industry was announced on Wednesday when Schlumberger (SLB), one of the world’s largest oilfield services companies, said it will acquire oilfield-equipment maker Cameron International (CAM) for $14.8 billion. Shares of both companies jumped in pre-market trade.

Gold extended its decline from the prior session, falling 1.22% to $1,124 a troy ounce. Silver plunged 3.83% to $14.10an ounce, while copper gave up 2.74% to $2.24 a pound.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 0.023 percentage points  to 2.156%.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar declined 0.05% against the Chinese yuan, while the euro continued to fall against the greenback, dropping 1.15%.

Follow Victoria Craig on Twitter @VictoriaCraig.