Asian stocks fall after more US debt talks fail to break impasse
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday after more talks in Washington on government debt ended with no deal to avoid a potentially jarring default.
Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong sank. Oil prices rose.
Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index edged up less than 0.1% on Monday as Congress and the White House negotiated over Republican demands to cut social programs in exchange for agreeing to raise the amount the government can borrow.
“The resumption of debt ceiling negotiations spurred some hopes despite distinct risks of brinksmanship and blame-shifting,” Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a report.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4% to 3,251.72 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.4% to 30,957.77. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong retreated 1.3% to 19,419.55.
The Kospi in Seoul advanced 0.4% to 2,567.55 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was less than 0.1% lower at 61,963.68.
India's Sensex opened up 0.4% at 62,207.50. New Zealand and Bangkok declined while Singapore and Jakarta advanced.
Worries about a potential U.S. debt default have added to investor unease about the health of the global economy following interest rate hikes to cool inflation and high-profile bank failures in the United States and Switzerland.
The U.S. government is forecast to run out of money to pay its bills as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn't increase the amount the Treasury is allowed to borrow. That would send shockwaves through global financial markets and could weigh on an already weakening global economy.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said they had a productive discussion Monday at the White House but reached no agreement.
Republicans are determined to cut spending while Biden’s team offered to hold spending levels flat. Biden wants to increase some...