A spike in trade tensions between the U.S. and China rattled market sentiment while fresh U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil giants triggered a surge in crude oil prices. Earnings updates from the corporate sector also swayed sentiment.

Wall Street Futures are directionless ahead of the CPI update on Friday morning. Benchmarks in Europe are trading mostly above the flatline. Asian markets finished trading on a mostly positive note.

The six-currency Dollar Index rebounded. Ten-year bond yields mostly hardened.

Both the crude oil benchmarks jumped more than 5 percent in the wake of fresh U.S. sanctions against Russian oil companies that are seen blocking global oil supplies. Safe haven bets helped gold rebound emphatically. Cryptocurrencies are trading on a positive note.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.25%, S&P 500 slipped 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 edged 0.01% lower. The Russell 2000 outperformed with a 0.37% gain.