London stocks were flat by midday on Monday, with investors cautious at the start of a busy week that will see earnings from four of the 'Magnificent Seven' and a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, but gold miners rallied as the yellow metal breached $5,000 an ounce for the first time.
The FTSE 100 was steady at 10,148.79, paring earlier gains.
Meanwhile, gold futures on Comex were up 2.2% at $5,090.20 an ounce as investors continued to flock to safe haven assets.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "There may not be any big geopolitical news to rival last week's Greenland drama, but internal tensions in the US are helping to keep precious metals prices elevated.
"Gold has moved through $5,000 for the first time - showing investors are still seeking out the traditional haven for some insurance against what remains a febrile backdrop.
"In less than 18 months bullion has more than doubled in value - buoyed by central bank demand, global turmoil, dollar weakness, and the diminished appeal of other popular defensive assets.
"The odds of another US government shutdown look to have increased as Democrats say they will block the federal spending package over the fallout from the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
"Japanese shares slumped as the yen increased on speculation authorities in Japan and the US were planning an intervention in the market to curb weakness in the currency. A weaker yen is typically good news for a corporate world and economy heavily reliant on exports.
"Regardless of the political backdrop, this week is a crunch one across the Atlantic. Most of the big US tech names are set to report and the Federal Reserve is poised to deliver its latest decision on interest rates amid swirling speculation over who will replace current chair Jerome Powell later this year."
Meta, Tesla and Microsoft's earnings are due on Wednesday, while Apple's first-quarter results will be out on Thursday.
On home shores, investors mulled a survey showing that private sector activity continued to weaken in the three months to January, weighing on sentiment.
According to the Confederation of British Industry's latest growth indicator, private sector activity fell in the three months to January, with a balance of -33, largely unchanged on December's -34. All sub-sectors reported falling activity, the CBI noted.
In equity markets, Spire Healthcare surged after it confirmed preliminary takeover talks with private equity firms Bridgepoint and Triton.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Hochschild and Endeavour all shone amid the rally in gold prices.
Residential landlord Grainger rose as it said its property joint venture with Transport for London has agreed to forward fund and buy a 195-home rental project at Chiswick Reach in West London to be developed in partnership by Barratt Redrow.
GSK nudged higher as it said the European Commission has approved its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for use in all adults.
Reckitt Benckiser was in the red but off earlier lows after the consumer goods giant said it has not been subject to a product recall in the Philippines as reported in a media article.
3i Group fell after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to 'underperform' from 'sector perform' and cut the price target to 3,000p from 3,250p as it said the valuation was still "on the full side".
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,148.79 0.05%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,310.55 -0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 5,901.37 -0.55%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,242.00p 6.16%
Fresnillo (FRES) 4,334.00p 3.98%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,707.00p 3.43%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,479.00p 2.99%
SEGRO (SGRO) 747.80p 2.49%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,644.00p 2.07%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 318.80p 1.85%
Weir Group (WEIR) 3,236.00p 1.83%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,214.00p 1.80%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,660.00p 1.60%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
3i Group (III) 3,160.00p -3.92%
Experian (EXPN) 2,930.00p -3.27%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,828.00p -3.16%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 551.60p -2.96%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,164.50p -2.59%
easyJet (EZJ) 471.00p -2.26%
Relx plc (REL) 2,859.00p -2.12%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 134.20p -2.04%
ICG (ICG) 1,879.00p -1.93%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,142.00p -1.64%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 211.00p 18.41%
Ninety One (N91) 255.80p 7.12%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 736.00p 4.84%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 144.00p 3.90%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,496.00p 2.98%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,004.00p 2.55%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 239.20p 2.13%
Breedon Group (BREE) 344.00p 1.96%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 218.50p 1.86%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,120.00p 1.85%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 107.80p -5.77%
Computacenter (CCC) 3,254.00p -3.27%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 520.00p -2.62%
Rank Group (RNK) 91.40p -2.56%
Trainline (TRN) 203.60p -2.49%
AJ Bell (AJB) 453.40p -2.41%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,285.00p -2.35%
Me Group International (MEGP) 136.20p -2.30%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 276.40p -2.12%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 199.50p -2.11%