The price of gold plunged by more than 5pc on Thursday, erasing almost all its gains from earlier in the day.

The bullion fell to $5,184 in the late afternoon in London, having previously risen above $5,500 for the first time.

Gold still remains 3pc higher than yesterday’s closing price, although the sudden drop highlights the volatility across the commodity market.

The latest swing comes after gold surpassed $5,000 on Monday.

Demand for safe-haven assets such as gold and silver has soared in recent months amid concerns over Donald Trump’s tariffs and the weakening of the dollar, which fell to a four-year low on Wednesday.

Silver also fell to $110 an ounce on Thursday afternoon, having risen to a high of $121 previously in the session.

Ole S Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, warned traders to avoid chasing the precious metal rally.

He said: “The continued surge across metals, especially gold and silver, is entering a dangerous phase, in my opinion.

“In my many years following markets, I have seen this dynamic play out several times across commodities—and occasionally in other asset classes as well.”

Gold has soared by almost 100pc in the past year, while silver has rocketed by 285pc over the same period.

Mr Hansen added: “Fear of missing out can drive prices far beyond levels justified by prevailing fundamentals, and timing that turning point is notoriously difficult.”

07:04pm

Thanks for joining us. That’s all we have for today.

Gold rose past $5,500 an ounce for the first time before retreating as investors sought to take profit.

Silver also hit a new record and Bitcoin and oil advanced to highs not seen in the past few months.

The major US indexes all fell, driven by the Federal Reserve holding interest rates and a tech sell-off fuelled by Microsoft’s stock tumbling.

06:36pm

Bitcoin has hit its lowest point since April as investors continue to sell off tech stocks.

The cryptocurrency plunged almost 7pc to $83,653.

During times of market volatility, traders often seek to shed riskier assets in favour of safe havens like precious metals.

Bitcoin’s losses since this time last year have reached close to 20pc.

05:58pm

Donald Trump said he will announce his nominee for Federal Reserve chair next week.

“We’re going to be announcing next week,” the US president said during a Cabinet meeting. “We’re going to be announcing the head of the Fed, who that will be, and it will be a person that will, I think, do a good job.”

05:46pm

Investors’ negative reaction to Microsoft’s earnings results has helped to drag down all three major US indexes, according to AJ Bell.

Shares in Microsoft have plunged 12pc after the tech giant announced a 66pc surge in spending on data centres.

Danni Hewson, of AJ Bell, wrote in a note: “An increasingly negative reaction to last night’s earnings from Microsoft helped put US indices on the back foot thanks to the technology firm’s vast scale. The biggest one-day fall for the company since the pandemic inevitably created wider nervousness.

“It overshadowed a much more positive reception to the latest numbers from social media giant Meta Platforms and a more muted, if still downbeat, reaction to Tesla’s update.

“The stakes have been raised ahead of Apple’s own earnings later – though this business, much to the chagrin of some of its detractors, is much less tied to the AI theme than Microsoft.

“Since Alphabet-owned Google launched its Gemini 3 AI model in November, Microsoft has seen $600 billion wiped off its market value as investors weigh the competitive threat posed to Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

“A slowdown in growth in its cloud computing arm and softening margins have only added to these concerns.”

05:38pm

The US trade deficit almost doubled in November despite Donald Trump’s tariff efforts.

The goods and services deficit was $56.8 billion in November, up from $29.2 billion in October, according to the US Census Bureau.

About one-third of that jump came from the European Union, where goods exported to the US face a 15pc tariff rate.

05:18pm

Oil prices have hit a 7-month high after Donald Trump threatened Iran with a military strike again.

Brent crude oil prices rose about 5pc, rising to over $71 a barrel for the first time since June, when its value came close to $74.

West Texas Intermediate topped $66 a barrel, having not surpassed the threshold since July.

The US president wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that a naval fleet would “rapidly fulfill its mission with speed and violence, if necessary” if Iran did not agree to a nuclear deal.

05:03pm

Bitcoin has declined by its largest amount since December amid rising geopolitical uncertainty and after the Federal Reserve held rates.

The cryptocurrency slid 5pc to $85,225, bringing total losses in the past year to more than 16pc.

Solana shed nearly 6pc, extending its decline to 48pc in the same period.

04:55pm

UK and European stocks closed mixed after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates and earnings results have fuelled a tech sell-off.

The FTSE 100 rose by almost 0.2pc to 10,172 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell by 0.5pc to 23,268 points.

France’s Cac made little gains since yesterday’s close, with 8,071 points and Germany’s Dax declined by 2pc to 24,309 points.

04:40pm

Shares in a number of tech giants have fallen after a week packed with earnings results.

Microsoft’s stock has plunged 12pc as investors worry about the company’s rising spending on artificial intelligence (AI).

Shares in software companies Atlassian and Workday have also declined more than 10pc.

Meanwhile, Tesla was down by a more minimal 2pc and Apple fell by just 0.3pc.

04:21pm

US stocks fell sharply as investors sold off shares in technology companies during a week filled with earnings reports from some of the world’s largest firms.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 2pc to 23,352 points, led by losses at Microsoft, which has plunged almost 12pc.

The S&P 500 was down 1.5pc to 6,876 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3pc to 48,895 points.

04:12pm

Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, raised whether the current rise in commodity prices is similar to the boom during the 1970s.

Between 1972 and 1974, oil, metals, agricultural products and materials all soared because of supply shocks arising from the war between Israel and Arab states.

Mr Griffith wrote in a post on X: “Commodities spiking. Copper up the most for 16 years.

“Higher inflation inbound. Cost of living up. 1970s again?”

03:27pm

Retail investors will “enter the arena” as the price of gold continues to surge, an investment analyst said.

Lord Ashbourne, head of mining at consultancy Edison Group, said “a lot of the factors” have pushed up bullion to its new record highs just shy of $5,600.

He said: “Probably the most important factor at the moment is that no-one (least of all President Trump) appears to be looking to defend the value of the dollar.

“Hence, real interest rates are low and seem likely to remain low and that will encourage central bankers to continue to exchange their fiat currency reserves for gold.

“As the price of gold rises, it will encourage the retail market to enter the arena.”

A retail investor is the name given to a typical person investing in their own account, who is not a professional.

Ashbourne said: “Leaving aside industrial demand, new mine supply will never be able to satisfy investment demand and hence the price will keep rising until something fundamentally changes.”

He added: “But until then, the trend is your friend.”

03:09pm

Copper has made its biggest jump since 2009 as Chinese buyers snapped up the vital industrial metal.

Prices jumped as much as 10.1pc to more than $14,400 a ton, having surpassed $14,000 for the first time this morning.

Copper, which is used in nearly all electrical appliances, has risen by around 25pc since the start of December amid concerns of a global shortage as part of the switch to net zero.

The metal moved sharply higher in Asian trading hours, prompting some analysts to speculate that China was the main buyer.

The recent fall in the dollar has also made global commodities cheaper.

Eric Liu of ASK Resources said: “Commodities are taking turns to rally.

“Copper has been hovering around $13,000 and funds have been brewing over the metal for some time.”

Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank urged investors to be “careful about getting sucked into an unsustainable rally”.

Copper jumps 10% to a fresh record high, and while the macro conditions remain in place (rate cuts, demand for hard assets, new demand themes), most of the micro drivers are not supporting this move. A couple of examples:
a) The spot-3s contango on LME trades at an 11-month high… pic.twitter.com/PqFo3vqPpT

— Ole S Hansen (@Ole_S_Hansen) January 29, 2026

02:54pm

The price of oil rose sharply as Donald Trump threatened military strikes on Iran.

Brent North Sea crude, an international benchmark, jumped 5pc towards $72 a barrel in the wake of the US president’s recent posts on his Truth Social network.

He said Iran needed to negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” Mr Trump said.

“The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” he added, referring to American strikes against Iranian nuclear targets in June.

Jason Tuvey of Capital Economics said strikes on Iran “would risk causing oil prices to jump and threaten to boost inflation in much of the world, reducing the pace or number of interest rate cuts by major central banks”.

He warned: “If oil infrastructure is hit and oil supplies are affected, though, we suspect that oil prices could rise towards $100 per barrel, especially as that would raise the probability that Iran attempts to block shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was last up 5.1pc above $66.

02:40pm

Wall ‍Street markets opened in different directions after major tech results revealed another surge in AI spending, ‍while ‌the Federal Reserve held rates steady as ‍widely expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial ‍Average rose 62.50 points, or 0.1pc, ⁠to 49,075.38, ‌the ‍S&P 500 gained 9.89 ​points, or 0.2pc, ‍to 6,988.65.

However, ⁠the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ​lost 39.15 ‌points, ⁠or 0.2pc, ‍to 23,818.30.

02:16pm

The US trade deficit nearly doubled in November as Donald Trump’s tariff campaign deepened uncertainty.

The gap between imports and exports grew by 94.6pc compared to October to $56.8bn (£41.1bn), the Commerce Department said.

The deficit had shrunk to $29.2bn in October, which was the lowest since 2009. President Trump was quick to link it to strong US growth and his tariff policies.

However, it widened against as imports to the US rose by 5pc to $348.9bn, driven by computers and semiconductors.

Economists noted that the export rise seen in October’s figures were significantly influenced by trade in gold.

Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “Services trade was little changed in November, but goods exports dropped back sharply, partly reflecting the unwind of an earlier leap in gold exports.”

01:54pm

Sometimes it looks like Donald Trump governs on a daily whim, as his ad-lib outbursts and threats come and go. But look closer and more often than not, there’s a plan.

When the president described the US dollar’s plunge as “great” on Tuesday, it looked like an off-the-cuff remark – especially after Scott Bessent, his treasury secretary, went on CNBC the next day to reiterate the White House’s “strong-dollar policy”.

But there does seem to be a masterplan, and it is unfolding play by play.

01:19pm

Donald Trump accused the chairman of the US Federal Reserve of “hurting our country” after the central bank left interest rates unchanged.

The US president accused Jerome Powell of having “absolutely no reason to keep them so high” after the Fed voted to keep rates at their range of 3.75pc to 3.5pc.

Mr Trump posted on Truth Social: “We should have a substantially lower rate now that even this moron admits inflation is no longer a problem or threat.”

He said the decision was costing the US “hundreds of billions of dollars a year” in interest payments.

The US paid $1.2 trillion in interest payments last year on its $38 trillion national debt, official data show. The IMF calculated the US debt stood at 120pc of GDP. By comparison, the UK national debt is around £2.9 trillion, which is around 101pc.

Mr Trump posted: “Because of the vast amounts of money flowing into our Country because of Tariffs, we should be paying the LOWEST INTEREST RATE OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.”

Tariffs on imports to the US are paid by American companies.

01:04pm

Miners will offer continuing returns for investors as metals prices surge, a German investment bank has said.

Berenberg analysts said in a note to clients it “advocates a long mining strategy for investors” amid surging prices.

It said global commodity markets have been “turned on their heads” as commodities were driven higher by “a mixture of factors – including elevated geopolitical risk, physical shortages and positive sentiment”.

The FTSE 100 is one of the best performers among major European stock markets today thanks to its heavy concentration of mining companies.

The index was up 0.8pc, compared to a 0.1pc rise for the UK focused FTSE 250. Its industrial mining stocks were up 4pc while precious metals miners were up 3.5pc. Copper miner Antofagasta was last up 9.8pc while gold focused Endeavour Mining was up 6pc.

“We think the gold and copper sub-sectors are the place to be,” Berenberg analysts said.

“If we take a step back, we would flag that geopolitical risk indicators are spiking, which – given recent geopolitical events – is not a surprise, and gold, as a store of value in uncertain times, is seeing its worth come to the fore.

“We also note that rising commodity prices could also have a knock-on impact to inflation, and gold, again, is a store of value in inflationary times – supporting its worth once again.”

12:48pm

Retail investors are fuelling the record surge in gold, an economist has warned.

Robin Brooks said it was a “myth” that central banks were the main driver of rising bullion prices.

He said: “The precious metals bubble of recent months is all about retail buying, like every other bubble before it.”

Mr Brooks, a former chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, said the volume of gold sales among emerging market central banks was growing by about 1pc per year.

He said there was “very little to suggest that central banks have been on a buying spree, not even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which in many narratives gets cast as a catalyst for some central banks to have diversified out of the dollar”.

Instead, he said it looked like central bank gold reserves were rising because the price of gold was moving higher, meaning the proportion that gold made up of the value of their total reserves was higher in dollar terms.

He said: “This fits the reality of central bank reserve managers, who invest conservatively and don’t spend their day punting on a gold rally. The central bank narrative as a driver of gold prices is bogus.”

There's lots of untruths on the rise in gold. The biggest is that central banks are buying gold and is based on this misleading chart. The share of gold in central bank reserves is going up because the price is rising. There's no central bank buying spree.https://t.co/FsCFhu5DtA pic.twitter.com/NexzcMumdd

— Robin Brooks (@robin_j_brooks) January 29, 2026

12:13pm

Gold demand surged to a record high last year as investors and central banks flocked to the safe-haven asset, industry data showed.

Purchases hit all-time highs in both volume and value last year, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its annual report, with demand exceeding 5,000 tonnes and value reaching $555bn (£402bn) - a 45pc increase on the previous year.

WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul said “uncertainty” has been the key driver of gold’s strong performance.

He said: “On a geopolitical front, there were obviously concerns about the actions of the new Trump administration.”

Gold has surged by 64pc last year in its best year since 1979 as the world was hit with Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught.

12:05pm

The metals market is entering a “dangerous phase” analysts have warned as gold surged past $5,500 an ounce.

Bullion, considered a safe haven in times of turmoil, has surged by nearly 30pc since the turn of the year, surpassing $5,000 for the first time just on Monday.

The precious metal has climbed as markets have been rocked by Donald Trump’s tariff threats around the world and a weakening US dollar.

Gold only surpassed $4,000 for the first time in October and was below $3,000 last April.

Meanwhile, silver has rocketed by 297pc over the last year to more than $120, having been valued below $30 in July.

Ole S Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, warned investors to be wary of chasing the rally, which has also seen silver hit new records above $120.

He said: “Fear of missing out can drive prices far beyond levels justified by prevailing fundamentals, and timing that turning point is notoriously difficult.”

Mr Hansen said the metals market was “feeding on itself” as higher prices lead to lower numbers of trades in the market, which can increase volatility.

The continued surge across metals, especially #gold and #silver, is entering a dangerous phase, in my opinion. In my many years following markets, I have seen this dynamic play out several times across commodities—and occasionally in other asset classes as well.

The problem is…

— Ole S Hansen (@Ole_S_Hansen) January 29, 2026

11:48am

Gold has surged by nearly 30pc so far this year in a breakneck rally caused by rising global tensions and worries over the independence of the US Federal Reserve.

Bullion rose on Wednesday at the steepest pace in a single day since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 thanks to a range of factors including concerns that the dollar will weaken in the future.

Silver has also hit a record high above $120 an ounce as investors switch from the US currency into hard assets to protect against the erosion of dollar buying power.

Christopher Hamilton of Invesco said the rise in the metal “reflects a rare alignment of forces rather than a single catalyst”.

He said: “The speed with which gold is breaking milestones underscores how quickly confidence in traditional policy tools is eroding.”

Gold was last up 4.3pc today to $5,524.

11:04am

US stocks were on track to open higher as tech giants set out more plans to spend on AI.

Investors appeared to brush off concerns about the dollar and the decision of the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold.

Facebook owner Meta jumped 7.9pc in premarket trading as the social media giant revealed a 73pc jump in this year’s budget for capital expenditure.

Tesla rose 2.9pc after outlining plans to more than double capital expenditure to a record level, axing some of its vehicle models as it moves away from electric cars towards AI.

The latest results from three of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” companies suggest investors are ‍willing to overlook massive ‌AI expenditures on the promise of greater returns.

However, Microsoft dropped 6.4pc as its cloud revenue failed to impress and stoked fears over the hefty outlays behind its OpenAI alliance.

Jake Behan of Direxion said: “Traders are no longer rewarding the ‍biggest spenders, and Microsoft’s elevated capex appears to have spooked them, leaving doubts that the continued spend will deliver a clear path to profit.

“Capex remains the market’s central concern for hyperscalers, as trader focus shifts from growth optics to the timing and payoff of AI investment.”

In premarket trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1pc, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq had gained 0.2pc.

10:34am

Brent crude oil topped $70 per barrel for the first time since September as Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions by threatening military strikes on Iran.

The international benchmark oil contract Brent North Sea crude jumped 2.4pc to $70.06 per barrel as the weaker dollar also made it cheaper to buy commodities.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate climbed 2.6 percent to $64.82 per barrel.

President Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons.

He said he has sent an “armada” to the Middle East and warned Tehran against killing anti-government protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.

Iran, which brutally cracked ‍down on ‌large protests this month and killed or arrested thousands, responded with a threat to strike back against the United States, Israel and those who support them.

10:15am

Sweden’s central bank has kept its interest rates on hold with a warning about growing “uncertainty” in the wake of Donald Trump’s trade threats.

The central bank kept rates at 1.75pc and forecast no changes for the rest of the year as it enjoys a rare “Goldilocks” moment where the economy is growing and inflation is close to the 2pc target.

The Riksbank’s main scenario is that the current benign conditions will continue and that the policy rate will be unchanged “for some time ‍to come.”

Nevertheless ‌the outlook is finely balanced after the US president threatened European allies with tariffs over the ownership of Greenland.

The Swedish central bank said: “The uncertainty regarding the outlook for inflation and economic activity ‍has increased.

“The Riksbank is vigilant with regard to developments and is prepared to adjust monetary policy if the outlook changes.”

Sweden Interest Ratehttps://t.co/ANNATAuaWv pic.twitter.com/9mSRBZqRa6

— TRADING ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) January 29, 2026

09:56am

The US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold for now and resume cuts later this year, according to bond giant Pimco.

The investment manager’s economist Tiffany Wilding said the US central bank thinks rates are “restrictive enough to cool inflation, and flexible enough to absorb shocks”.

The Fed kept interest rates on hold at their range of 3.75pc to 3.5pc on Wednesday.

Traders on money markets think there is a 77pc chance the Fed will cut rates by June, which would be the first meeting after the term of present chairman Jerome Powell comes to and end.

Mr Trump has repeatedly pressured Mr Powell to lower interest rates and US official launched a criminal investigation into him earlier this month over renovations to Fed buildings.

Ms Wilding said: “With inflation pressures broadly receding – helped by productivity gains, fading tariff effects, and softer housing costs – the central bank is likely to stay on hold for now and resume rate cuts later this year.

“Unless growth weakens materially or inflation reaccelerates, the next phase of policy is likely to be gradual, measured easing rather than a rapid pivot.”

09:28am

The UK’s stock markets rose as the blockbuster rally in gold and other metals boosted mining companies.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.6pc to 10,210.54 after bullion surpassed $5,500 for the first time.

Industrial and precious metal miners were the strongest performers on the index and the mid-cap FTSE 250, rising by more than 3pc.

Copper miner Antofagasta rose as much as 7.2pc as the metal climbed above $14,000.

Endeavour mining, which owns gold mines in West Africa, surged by as much as 6.4pc as it revealed it returned a record $435m *(£315m) to shareholders last year in dividends and buybacks.

The strongest individual company was 3i, which jumped as much as 15.2pc – the most in nearly six years.

The private equity company’s largest investment, the European discount retailer Action, revealed a 16pc rise in sales.

09:03am

It is not just precious metals surging in the face of the weakening dollar.

Copper has surged to more than $14,000 a tonne for the first time as the falling US currency makes it cheaper to buy industrial metals.

The metal climbed as much as 7.9pc on the London Metals Exchange.

Yan Weijun of Chinese trader Xiamen C&D, said: “This is all driven by speculative funds. It’s likely all Chinese money.”

Neil Welsh, head of metals at Britannia Global Markets, said investors were “piling into base metals on expectations for stronger US growth and more global spending on data centres, robotics and power infrastructure”.

08:44am

The value of the dollar fell despite an intervention by Scott Bessent aimed at shoring up the currency.

The greenback was last down 0.2pc against the pound to $1.383 and fell 0.1pc versus the euro to $1.197.

The US treasury secretary insisted America wants to maintain a strong currency, and sought to quash rumours that it was poised to intervene with Japan to prop up the yen.

A “rate check” carried out by US officials last week raised speculation that there would be a move to support the beleaguered yen, which sparked a sharp downturn in the value of the currency.

This was exacerbated when President Trump appeared at ease with the prospect of a falling dollar on Tuesday.

08:19am

Thanks for joining me. Gold surged to $5,500 in a blistering rally despite one of Donald Trump’s top officials seeking to stabilise the dollar.

Bullion climbed another 4.6pc to $5,542 as fears over the future strength of the US currency gripped markets.

Metals have rallied this week after the dollar hit a four-year low against the pound and other major currencies.

Analysts have warned this is part of the so-called “debasement trade”, where investors switch to hard assets to guard against the declining value of currencies.

Investors turned to gold after Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that the US currency was “doing great,” indicating he was unconcerned about its recent declines, which saw it fall 9pc last year and more than 2pc this month.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday sought to stabilise the currency, telling CNBC that the US government is not intervening in the currency market and continues to want a “strong dollar.”

Gold only surpassed $5,000 for the first time on Monday and only broke past $4,000 in October.

Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management blamed the shift on the debasement trade, where investors are losing confidence in traditional “fiat” currencies and buying hard assets to protect against rising inflation and the impact of surging government debt levels.

He said: “Gold is responding to something more structural and more uncomfortable. The slow realization that the anchors of the system are lighter than advertised.

“Gold is the inverse of confidence. When belief in policy coherence weakens, gold ceases to behave like a hedge and instead acts as an alternative. That is what we are watching now.

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Asian shares were mixed as a wait-and-see attitude dominated markets following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell said interest rates look to be “in a good place” for now.

Gold jumped another 4.6pc, trading at $5,545 per ounce and silver was up 4.1pc to a new record. The dollar weakened against the Japanese yen and oil prices rose.

Gains for some technology companies reporting strong earnings failed to give shares in Tokyo much of a lift as the Nikkei 225 rose less than 0.1pc to 53,375.60.

Computer chip testing equipment maker Advantest surged 5.2pc after it reported stronger than anticipated earnings. Some tech company shares, like Panasonic, fell, while others rose, like chips maker Kioxia and Sony.

Earnings season is getting into full gear, with major Japanese companies like Toyota, Sony and Nintendo due to report their earnings next week.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi surged 1pc to 5,221.25, hitting a fresh record as computer chip maker SK Hynix picked up 2.4pc on a strong earnings report.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3pc to 27,917.12, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2pc to 4,157.98.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed nearly 0.1pc to 8,927.50.

In Jakarta, the JSX sank 2.4pc, extending a sharp decline after the MSCI, a US provider of global equity, fixed income and real estate indices, warned about market risks in Indonesia.

On Wall Street, stocks pared back gains after the Federal Reserve held interest rates.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed broadly the same as Tuesday at 6,978 points. Earlier it briefly surpassed 7,000 points for the first time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also remained little changed with 49,016 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was up about 0.2pc at the closing bell to 23,857 points.

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