London stocks ended a smidgen higher on Monday, underpinned by rallying gold miners as the yellow metal breached $5,000 an ounce for the first time, but with investors cautious ahead of earnings from four of the 'Magnificent Seven' and a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve this week.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.1% at 10,148.85.
Meanwhile, gold prices breached the $5,000 mark for the first time as investors continued to flock to safe haven assets, while silver prices reached a record $112 per ounce.
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.
"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, precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Hochschild and Endeavour all shone amid the rally in gold prices.
Spire Healthcare surged to the top of the FTSE 250 after it confirmed preliminary takeover talks with private equity firms Bridgepoint and Triton.
Russ Mould said: "A previous takeover deal for Spire back in 2021 - which would have seen Aussie operator Ramsay Health Care take the company over in a £1 billion deal - fell apart despite being recommended by the board, thanks to opposition from major shareholders.
"If the speculated £1.5 billion price tag in this latest sale process is right then it looks like that opposition was warranted, although this might be optimistic given where the share price is languishing right now.
"The more recent shareholder pressure to launch a review of the business reflects the stock's miserable performance and investors may welcome the opportunity to check out of Spire should it arise."
GSK rose as it said the European Commission has approved its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for use in all adults.
On the downside, 3i Group slumped 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".
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.
Drinks company C&C Group slid again following heavy losses on Friday on the back of a profit warning.