US shares climb as sales data stalls

Markets across Asia and the US climbed on Thursday, following a bout of soft economic data which saw retail sales in the US stall.

In a week where central banks are very much in focus, US markets were given a boost after poor retail sales prompted hopes any rate rise in the States could be further off than expected. Late last night US retail sales came in flat for July, below expectations of further growth. In the current stimulus-driven environment, any weak economic figures are being used by bulls to push markets up as they argue it will delay any interest rate hike. The data adds to other signs of weakness seen already in the last few days. Overnight Tuesday there was an economic contraction in Japan, and t...