US equity futures were lower before Friday's opening bell in thin volume amid a trading lull between Christmas and New Year.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.4%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were down 0.5%.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.8% at $73.42 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.7% at $70.12 per barrel.

The international trade in goods deficit, released at 8:30 am ET, widened to $102.86 billion in November from $98.26 billion in the preceding month, compared with estimates compiled by Bloomberg for a $101.2 billion gap.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.8% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.04% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.06% higher. Meanwhile, UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.03%, and Germany's DAX index increased 0.6% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of Surf Air Mobility (SRFM) were over 23% higher pre-bell after the company announced share purchases by its chairman and a member of the board.