Sawt Falasteen - Gold tops $4,000 for first time as safe haven shines

"This latest high marks the latest stage in what has been a meteoric rise in the gold price, which has now doubled in the last two years," noted Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The precious metal's recent rally has also come amid concerns that a surge in the value of technology companies, which has helped drive stock markets to record highs, may have been overdone.

Global economic uncertainty, US President Donald Trump's tariffs war and geopolitical crises are supporting gold, according to analysts.

It reached an all-time high above $4,040 an ounce Wednesday, while silver was also within a few dollars of its own record high.

Elsewhere, stock markets largely rose in Europe after losses for major indices in Asia.

The dollar traded mixed against main rivals and oil prices rose around one percent.

The Paris CAC 40 index gained as France's outgoing prime minister said consultations to end the country's political crisis had shown cross-party willingness to agree on a budget by the end of the year.

Frankfurt's DAX was also higher despite a sharper-than-expected drop in German industrial production, reviving fears of a recession in Europe's largest economy as it reels from US tariffs.

The closure of parts of the US government is adding to the sense of unease among investors, with key economic data, including on jobs, being postponed and muddying the waters for the Federal Reserve as it tries to decide on its rate plans.

While gold traders were busy pushing the metal ever higher, equity markets were more subdued in Asia as questions were asked about the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been invested in artificial intelligence.

The AI boom has seen some indices and companies hit record highs, with chip titan Nvidia topping a $4 trillion valuation.

But a report that software firm Oracle's cloud computing profit margin was much lower than expected sent shivers through trading floors, with Wall Street falling into the red Tuesday.

"In a market priced for perfection, any delay in cash flow -- even a temporary one -- feels like the bartender calling 'last call'," wrote Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

"Traders didn't wait for clarification; they simply started easing out of their positions. The Oracle story didn't crash the party, but it definitely sobered it."

Tech firms, which have enjoyed strong buying this year and in recent months, led selling in Asia, with Alibaba and JD.com down in Hong Kong, TSMC dropping in Taipei and Renesas sharply lower in Tokyo.

The Tokyo stock market dropped after a strong start to the week, fuelled by optimism that the election of business-friendly conservative Sanae Takaichi as the ruling party's leader will see more stimulus measures and a fresh push for monetary easing.

- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 9,539.13 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,030.20

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 24,513.01

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 47,734.99 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 26,829.46 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 46,602.98 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1630 from $1.1652 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3428 from $1.3422

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.92 yen from 151.97 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.64 pence from 86.83 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $66.06 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $62.38 per barrel

D.Qudsi--SF-PST