Global equity markets eased yesterday on a spate of poor corporate results and the release of Bank of England minutes that showed two of the bank’s policymakers unexpectedly voted earlier this month for an interest rate hike.

Sterling and UK bond yields rose after the surprise tilt towards higher British rates, while the US dollar advanced to its highest against the euro since last September on the view the Federal Reserve may be turning less dovish.

Minutes from the Fed’s last meeting of policymakers in July were expected to come late yesterday, ahead of Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s widely anticipated address to the annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, tomorrow.

With US and global stock indices trading close to all-time highs, investors are waiting for a reaffirmation of the accommodative monetary policies that have helped spur a global rally in stocks.

“The next leg up is going to come from what we hear on Friday from Yellen,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York. “The market has been a little bit on tenterhooks,” he said.

MSCI’s all-country equity index was down 0.05 per cent, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed down 0.07 per cent at 1,346.02.

A warning from brewer Carlsberg that profits would fall this year due to deteriorating conditions in Russia rattled European investors.

A cut in its full-year sales forecast by Lowe’s Companies also unnerved investors, though the world’s No. 2 home improvement products retailer also posted better-than-expected second-quarter results.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 28.71 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 16,948.30.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 1.89 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 1,983.49.

The dollar broke through resistance at $1.3300 and last November’s high of $1.3295 per euro to trade as high as $1.3275.

It also climbed to a 4.5-month high against the yen. It was last up 0.22 per cent versus the euro at $1.3290.

US crude oil rose more than $1 a barrel ahead of the September contract’s expiry later yesterday and as crude stocks in the United States posted a sharp fall, while Brent bounced off a 14-month low to reach $102.

Brent crude for delivery in October was up 35 cents at $101.91 a barrel. The US crude contract for September delivery was up 78 cents to $95.26 a barrel.

US Treasuries fell, with the benchmark 10-year note down 3/32 in price to yield 2.4157 per cent.

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