Markets rise after ‘productive’ Biden-McCarthy debt talks

[superadmin]

HONG KONG: Optimism that the US will avert a calamitous default supported equities Tuesday, with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy saying they held productive talks on the debt ceiling.

With just weeks to go before the country runs out of cash, the standoff has become the key topic on trading floors on fears that a US failure to pay its bills will send shockwaves through markets and the global economy.

Months of negotiations have failed to break the deadlock and lift the borrowing limit from the current US$31.8 trillion, but things appear to be moving in the right direction after a series of Biden-McCarthy meetings.

After their latest get-together on Monday, the Republican Speaker said: “I felt we had a productive discussion. We don’t have an agreement yet, but I did feel the discussion was productive in areas (where) we have differences of opinion.”

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