Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher amid debt ceiling optimism
Timilehin Adejumobi
1 min read
Asia-Pacific share indexes rallied on Thursday, following Wall Street’s lead, and the dollar held just below a two-month high versus the yen amid signs the United States might be close to a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avert a disastrous default.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy underscored their determination to reach an agreement soon, pledging to negotiate directly on a deal amid estimates the Treasury could run out of money by the start of June.
“It is possible to get a deal by the end of the week,” McCarthy told reporters. “It’s not that difficult to get to an agreement.”
As investors drew comfort from that reassurance, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) pushed 0.78% higher.
“Markets have chosen to be optimistic,” Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a client note.
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