Sydney — The dollar hoarded hefty gains on Wednesday after strong US retail data put a Federal Reserve rate increase back on the agenda, while Asian stocks inched ahead as tension in the Korean peninsula simmered down a little. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam while he waits to see what the US does, as Washington said any dialogue was up to Kim. The break in threat and counter-threat was enough for South Korean stocks to bounce 0.5%, although they remain well short of a record peak touched in July. The next flash point could be a joint US-South Korean military exercise starting on August 21. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei dithered either side of flat. There was no clear lead from Wall Street, where the Dow had ended on Tuesday up a tiny 0.02%. The S&P 500 lost 0.05% and the Nasdaq 0.11%. The economic news, however, was much more emphatic, with US retail sales rising ...
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