Asian shares rise on debt bill progress, Fed pause hopes

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SINGAPORE : Asian stocks surged on Friday as the progress on the bill to raise U.S. debt ceiling and increasing hopes that the Federal Reserve might stand still on interest rates in its next meeting helped perk up investor appetite for risky assets.

The U.S. Senate is on track to pass a bill to lift the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling late on Thursday in Washington, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, after the House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday.

The Treasury Department has warned it will be unable to pay all its bills on June 5 if Congress fails to act.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan spiked 1.13 per cent higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.57 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei was 0.71 per cent higher.

China shares have been hamstrung by worries over stuttering post COVID-19 recovery. The Shanghai Composite Index was set to open 0.2 per cent higher while, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was set to open up 2 per cent higher.

Data overnight showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased modestly last week and private employers hired more workers than expected in May, pointing to continued labour market tightness.

Source: Reuters

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