World stock markets advanced while the US dollar weakened yesterday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen omitted monetary policy in a much-anticipated speech that left the possibility of a interest rate hike in December open to interpretation.

US Treasury yields dipped as Ms Yellen’s speech at an annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, relieved some investors who had expected hawkish comments on the economy.

Reforms that followed the 2007 to 2009 crisis had strengthened the financial system without impeding economic growth, and future changes should be modest, Ms Yellen said in prepared remarks.

“She didn’t say anything that the market wanted to know about Fed policy,” Marc Chandler, chief global currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

“It’s seen the 10-year yield slip and has seen the dollar weaken. It was not that she said anything bullish for foreign currencies; it was that she didn’t say anything positive for the U.S.,” Chandler said.

MSCI’s index of stocks across the globe pared some gains to edge up 0.32 per cent.

US stocks climbed, though the tech-heavy Nasdaq was dragged lower by Broadcom Ltd after it reported results.

European share markets closed lower, with the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index slipping 0.05 per cent, even as an index of emerging market stocks rose.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes rose 5/32 in price, pushing the yield down to 2.1781 per cent.

The dollar index fell 0.53 per cent, with the euro up 0.64 per cent to $1.1873 and the Japanese yen gaining 0.27 per cent versus the greenback to 109.27 per dollar.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43.44 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 21,826.84. The S&P 500 gained 5.4 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 2,444.37 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.05 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 6,267.28.

All 11 major S&P sectors rose, except for technology. The S&P 500 and the Dow were on course to snap a two-week losing streak.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose as the dollar fell and as the US petroleum industry braced for Hurricane Harvey, which could become the biggest storm to hit the United States mainland in more than a decade.

US crude rose 0.4 per cent to $47.62 per barrel and Brent was last at $52.14, up 0.19 per cent on the day.