The Dow fell for a fourth straight session on Tuesday ahead of a key US inflation report, but beaten-down tech shares staged a rally amid talk the market has become oversold.

A volatile day ended with two of the three major indices in positive territory in a partial rebound from Monday's rout and the generally downcast start of 2022, as investors have grappled with inflation, tightening monetary policy and the war in Ukraine.

"The big question" is whether the market is at the end of the sell-off "or the beginning of a recovery," said Quincy Krosby, chief equity strategist of LPL Financial.

"Statistically, we probably have more to go on the downside."

The Dow Jones ended down 0.3 percent at 32,160.

The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 4,001, while the Nasdaq jumped 1 percent to 11,737.

All eyes will focus on Wednesday's consumer price report.

US consumer prices jumped 8.5 percent in the 12 months that ended in March, and though economists think that may have been the peak, the rate is likely to remain high for months to come.

The Labour Department is set to release the April CPI data on Wednesday, which economists project will show a much more modest monthly increase, slowing the torrid annual pace.

Pfizer rose 1.8 percent after announcing it would acquire Biohaven Pharmaceutical, a specialist in medications for treating and preventing migraines, for US$11.6 billion in cash. Biohaven surged nearly 70 percent.

Duke Realty, which owns industrial properties in US logistics markets, jumped 3.9 percent as it agreed to be acquired by Prologis, another company in logistics real estate, for about US$24 billion. Prologis fell 5.3 percent.

Peloton Interactive sank 8.7 percent as it reported a quarterly loss of US$757 million while struggling with slowing demand compared with earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic. (AFP)