U.S. stock index futures barely budged on Thursday, as results from Taiwan's TSMC failed to shake investors from their cautious mood following a rollercoaster session marked by concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence.

Wall Street braced for another inflation checkup after Tuesday's consumer price reading spurred traders to pare bets on Fed rate cuts in the coming months.

Dow Futures pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday, with investors waiting on key earnings reports from major banks and fresh data on wholesale inflation. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 17 points,

A healthy crop of earnings helped European stocks bust out of a four-day losing streak on Thursday, Wall Street was watching Netflix and the dollar bounced after U.S. President Donald Trump quashed talk he was about to fire Fed head Jerome Powell.

U.S. stock index futures moved higher on Wednesday after cooler-than-expected producer prices data for June reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates later

Early trading on Wall Street was quietly mixed as markets shift their attention toward a deluge of corporate earnings reports.

With the deadline for tariffs now moved to August 1, investors are pinning their hopes on negotiations to stave off an all-out trade war. "Market volatility is likely to pick up, but the latest development does not constitute an escalation in the trade war," UBS analysts said.

The fastest rise in US inflation this year hit Wall Street stocks, with the blowback expected to hit the ASX today. Follow the day's events and insights from our business reporters on the ABC News live markets blog.

Wall Street futures are largely unchanged Wednesday and with little corporate news or earnings reports during the holiday-shortened week. There may also be a pullback ahead of critical U.S. employment data that arrives Thursday,