Wall Street futures pointed largely sideways pre-bell Wednesday, as a global bond sell-off eased, and as traders awaited fresh reports from the Persian Gulf.

In the futures, the S&P 500 was steady, the Nasdaq declined 0.1%, and the Dow Jones traded down 0.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded higher at $84.87, up 1%, in morning action.

The VanEck Semiconductor fund (SMH) traded down 0.1% pre-bell, after losing 4.1% on Tuesday.

Investors also await the 2 pm ET release of minutes of the Federal Reserve policy-setting session held July 28-29, which are sure to be parsed for clues to central banker thinking.

Asian exchanges traded mostly lower overnight, led by a 5.8% decline on Seoul's KOSPI index, as tech issues again faltered.

European bourses edged south midday on the continent.

Moderna (MRNA) traded up 55.7% pre-bell after it and partner Merck (MRK) announced late-stage clinical trial results for an mRNA cancer vaccine. Merck gained 6.2%.

On the earnings scene, Lowe's (LOW) traded down 2.6% pre-bell after the home-improvement chain reported fiscal Q2 earnings above expectations, but missed on revenue, and tempered guidance, in the morning hours.

On the economic calendar, in addition to the Fed minutes, is the August Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations bulletin at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA petroleum status report at 10:30 am ET.

In pre-market action, Bitcoin traded at $64,329, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.70%. Spot gold commanded $4,367 an ounce