Asian markets seesawed Tuesday, with China stocks closing slightly higher after posting huge losses Monday.
Investors remain wary, plagued by lingering doubts about Beijing's economic policies and slowing economy.
After losing 5 percent on Monday -- 15 percent so far this year -- Shanghai trading was choppy before ending the day in positive territory with a 0.2 percent gain.
Near the end of the day, Hong Kong, which also tumbled Monday, was down nearly 0.7 percent.
After a market holiday Monday, Tokyo closed down 2.7 percent, its lowest level in nearly a year. Also down for the day were Sydney, which fell 0.14 percent, and Seoul, down 0.2 percent, its lowest level since September 8, 2015.
"In the Chinese equity markets so much damage was done to investor confidence last week" by new "circuit breaker" trading halt mechanisms that backfired, said analyst Angus Nicholson of IG. "I think that has really done a significant amount of damage to Chinese investor confidence and confidence in the government's ability to manage and regulate Chinese capital markets," he said.
European markets are set to open flat to slightly higher, with Britain's FTSE 100 to open 0.5 percent up, Germany's DAX to gain 0.8 percent, and France's CAC 40 to rise 0.7 percent, according to IG.
On Monday, U.S. markets provided some positivity, with the Dow and S&P 500 moving higher, ending the day up 0.1 percent, after three straight days of 1 percent-plus declines.
Crude also fell to a 12-year low, ending Monday below $32.