Stock Market LIVE: Asian equities under pressure as US debt talks cast shadow

SGX Nifty down, hints at weak start for Indian indices

SGX Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange were down 19.5 points at 18,218.50 in early deals on Friday, hinting at a weak start for Indian equities.

On Friday, the Sensex had risen 298 points to close at 61,729.68, while Nifty rose 73.40 points to 18,203.40.

Asian equities under pressure as US debt talks cast shadow

Asian stocks and Wall Street futures fell on Monday as U.S. debt ceiling negotiations approached crunch time after stalling last week. Lingering worries around the banking industry and fresh geopolitical worries capped sentiment.

U.S. President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet to discuss the debt ceiling on Monday, less than two weeks before the June 1 deadline after which Treasury expects the federal government will struggle to pay its debts.

A failure to lift the debt ceiling would trigger a default, sparking chaos in financial markets and a spike in interest rates.

In early trade on Monday, S&P 500 futures lost 0.1% while Nasdaq futures were flat.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last flat, struggling for direction. Japan’s Nikkei was also mostly unchanged and Australia’s resources-heavy shares slipped 0.2%.

On Friday, US stocks had ended lower as negotiations to raise the US debt ceiling were put on hold.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.28 points, or 0.33%, to 33,426.63, the S&P 500 lost 6.07 points, or 0.14%, to 4,191.98 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 30.94 points, or 0.24%, to 12,657.90.