US stocks wobbled on Thursday as investors waited for more clues about future interest rate cuts and worries over Donald Trump's presidency clouded optimism.

Bitcoin dipped below $90,000 level after striking a record of $93,462 on Wednesday.

Observers are expecting it to soon top $100,000 following pro-crypto pledges from the US president-elect.

Investors were looking to a speech later Thursday by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for indications about future interest rate cuts.

"Powell will likely face questions about the latest inflation data and the potential effects of protectionist policies under Trump, on the central's monetary policy in 2025," said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

"If Powell refrains from directly linking these factors to Fed policy, it might dampen market worries (and) reduce rate hike expectations," he added.

US consumer inflation data released on Wednesday showed that consumer prices rose in line with forecasts, cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.

But with Trump having vowed to impose across-the-board tariffs that could boost inflation and give the Fed reason to pause cutting interest rates.

"As things stand, the market is cautiously pricing in just 50 basis points of easing by mid-2025 -- a marked revision from before the US election" when it expected more cuts, added Razaqzada.

"The market, though, has a tendency of making its own mind up, and any dovish Powell remarks might fall on deaf ears."

Meanwhile data released on Thursday showed upticks in wholesale price inflation, which could also give the Fed reason to reevaluate the need to cut rates further.

"The higher interest rates, I think, are kind of acting as a headwind of sorts for the equity market right now," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

Wall Street's main indices opened with modest gains, but then dipped lower and subsequently bobbed around.

European markets fared better, with updated data confirming the eurozone recorded 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all fell on Thursday as concerns over another possible China-US trade war, and Beijing's economic woes, weighed on Asian markets.

The dollar advanced against its peers on the prospect that Trump's policies will keep the Fed from cutting interest rates as much as initially expected, but then turned lower against the euro and the pound.

The greenback topped 155 yen for the first time since July, putting focus on Japanese authorities who have said they are prepared to support their unit if they considered moves to be one-sided or speculative.