It was a wild ride on global markets overnight, with Wall Street continuing its run higher but European equities coming under selling pressure.

US markets had careened into negative territory initially amid rumours Russian troops had stormed into Ukrainian territory.

The early selling was also fueled by data showing a surprisingly steep slowdown in New York-area manufacturing activity this month.

However investors quickly overcame those concerns, instead focussing on a pair of positive earnings results from giants Coca-Cola, and Johnson and Johnson.

Across the Atlantic, markets took a dive as the escalating crisis in Ukraine stoked fears it will negatively impact on Europe's already hobbled economy.

In the commodities complex, there was a big shakeout in some of the major metals. Gold and silver tumbled after rumours of Russian troops entering Ukraine appeared to have been overblown.

Copper and nickel were crushed as traders sought to lock in profits ahead of some key Chinese economic data due out today, including the all-important first quarter GDP numbers.

Elsewhere, oil futures eased slightly as the weak US manufacturing data fed concerns of weaker American energy demand.

In the currency space, the greenback rose against other currencies, boosted by data showing an uptick in US inflation last month, which lowered hopes of the Fed slowing the pace of its stimulus tapering.

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