09:10 GMT: Gold hit another high on Wednesday but stock markets struggled to gain momentum as the dollar resumed its slide.

Bullion struck a new peak of $1,146.95, though it later traded up 0.3 per cent at $1,145.35 an ounce. It had advanced strongly late on Tuesday despite the dollar also gaining ground. The move challenged recent market convention that a weak dollar was good for riskier assets and vice versa.

However, in early trade on Wednesday, the dollar reverted to recent type, losing 0.3 per cent to $1.4922 versus the euro. On a trade-weighted basis the dollar was also off 0.3 per cent to 75.09.

Other commodities followed in gold’s wake. Copper moved back to near 14-month highs, up 1.1 per cent at $3.142 a pound, while oil was up 0.7 per cent at $79.69 a barrel. Inventory data on the energy complex will be released in the US later on Wednesday.

Stock market traders appeared more circumspect, however, after Wall Street managed to turn a loss into a small gain overnight. The S&P 500 added just 1 point to 1,110.3, though equity futures on Wednesday were suggesting it would lose that gain at the opening bell.

In Europe, equity trading was subdued. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.1 per cent to 5,351.3, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.3 per cent to 1,032.7.

The apparent reticence to engage in an early “Santa Claus rally” and push equities to fresh highs for the year had led Asian markets to put in a mixed performance.

The Nikkei in Tokyo finished down 0.6 per cent at 9,676.8, a six-week closing trough, as worries about a potential bankruptcy for Japanese Airlines resurfaced. Sentiment was also affected by fears of further fund-raisings by financial institutions. There was one piece of good news, however. The yield on the the Japanese 10-year benchmark sovereign bond fell another 0.5 basis points to 1.310, thereby potentially easing funding woes for the fiscally-strapped government.

Mainland China’s benchmark, the Shanghai Composite, added 0.6 per cent to 3,303.2, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3 per cent to 22,840.3, after again popping above the 23,000 level.

South Korea’s Kospi index closed at a three-week high, rising 1.1 per cent to 1,603.9, ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was firmer by 0.2 per cent at 4,739.0.

In government bonds, the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield was up 1.8 basis points to 3.324 per cent. The German 10-year bund yield rose by 1.7 basis points to 3.298 per cent.

DATA WATCH. In the UK, the minutes of the last Bank of England monetary policy committee meeting will be scoured for any clues about the outlook for quantitative easing.

Investors want to see Federal Reserve monetary policy remain loose for longer, so any signs of surprising strength in inflation will be most unwelcome. The US consumer price index is forecast to have risen 0.1 per cent month-on-month in October. The yearly increase is expected to be 0.3 per cent.

US housing starts numbers will be released at the same time. Analysts think ground will have been broken on 600,000 units in October.