NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were volatile on Tuesday as investors and traders returned to their desks after the extended Labor Day holiday weekend.

"Bulls hoping for a rebound will be doing so during a shortened Labor Day week that historically has paralleled September and its track record of underperformance: Losses have been slightly less frequent over the past three decades, but volatility has been higher," Chris Larkin, managing director of trading for E*Trade from Morgan Stanley told CNBC Tuesday.

The technology sector again led the losers percentage-wise, with the Nasdaq Composite sliding 85.96 points or 0.74 percent to 11,544.91.

The Dow Jones industrial retreated 173.14 points or 0.55 percent to 31,145.30.

The Standard and Poor's 500 declined 16.07 points or 0.41 percent to 3,908.19.

The U.S. dollar, meantime, continued surging. "People recognize the U.S. economy is slowing, but it's still the least ugly in the contest," Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex told Reuters Tuesday.

Despite a 50 basis points rate hike Tuesday by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian dollar tumbled to 0.6733. The euro was unwanted at 0.9903. The British pound sank to 1.1518. The Swiss franc weakened to 0.9845.

The Canadian dollar dived to 1.3147. The New Zealand dollar was sold off to 0.6038.

Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.18 percent. The German Dax surged 0.87 percent, while in Paris, France, the CAC 40 rose 0.19 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 6.90 points or 0.02 percent to 27,626.51.

The Australian All Ordinaries dipped 18.60 points or 0.26 percent to 7,055.90.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 declined 19.81 points or 0.17 percent to 11,599.23.

South Korea's Kospi Composite added 5.20 points or 0.22 percent to 2,408.88.

China's Shanghai Composite advanced 43.53 points or 1.36 percent to 3,243.45.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng ended down 22.97 points or 0.12 percent at 19,202.73.