NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks, bonds, and the dollar fell heavily on Tuesday as economic data revealed a slowing of the economy. The Dow Jones however in the final minutes of trading was able to reverse fortune and record a modest gain.

"It's really all about a hard landing and the Fed really being boxed in the corner with only demand-side tools to help," David Petrosinelli, a senior trader at InspereX told Reuters Tuesday. "They really need to squash demand."

"This is going to have a ripple effect for the economy, which is why you're seeing the price action in stocks and bonds," Petrosinelli added.

The Nasdaq Composite was the biggest loser Tuesday, sliding 270.83 points or 2.35 percent to 11.264.45.

The Dow Jones industrials, after being heavily in the red earlier, recovered to be 48.38 points or 0.15 percent higher at 31,928.62.

The Standard and Poor's 500 slid 32.23 points or 0.81 percent to 3,941.52.

The U.S. dollar continued to lose steam with the euro rising to 1.0735 by the New York close. The British pound cruised up to 1.2532. The Japanese yen was sharply higher at 126.86. The Swiss franc strengthened to 0.9607.

The Canadian dollar edged up to 1.2807. The Australian dollar firmed to 0.7109. The New Zealand dollar was in demand at 0.6462.

On overseas equity markets, the German Dax took a major hit in the shadow of a soaring euro, falling 1.80 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 lost 1.66 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.31 percent.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 253.38 points or 0.94 percent to 26,748.14.

China's Shanghai Composite retreated 75.93 points or 2.41 percent to 3,070.93.

The Australian All Ordinaries fell 25.70 points or 0.35 percent to 7,373.20.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 plummeted 69.43 points or 0.61 percent to 11,247.03.

South Korea's Kospi Index weakened by 41.51 points or 1.57 percent to 2,605.87.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng sank 357.96 points or 1.75 percent to close Tuesday at 20,112.10.