GLOBAL MARKETS-US Shares Firm as Tech Earnings Loom, BoE Cut Bruises Sterling

GLOBAL MARKET. U.S. shares held steady after European equities hit a record high, and gold prices were near an all-time peak as investor focus flipped back to where global interest rates and tech stocks are heading after days of trade war angst.

Britain's pound took a tumble as the Bank of England cut interest rates by another quarter point, but Europe's shares were buoyant again as encouraging signs from drugmaker AstraZeneca and miners helped the STOXX 600 index climb 0.9%.