Asian stocks inched higher on Thursday as the prospect of further stimulus from central banks in the region and Europe eclipsed disappointing U.S. data, which tripped up the dollar. Oil prices tumbled more than one percent to a four-year low as hopes for curbs in output by the OPEC faded. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.3 percent though Japan's Nikkei retreated 0.4 percent on the yen's rebound. "I expect a moderate (equities) rally to continue, perhaps led by European shares given signs of recovery there," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments. European ... (full story)