Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise despite worries about US debt talks

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly drifted higher Monday as investors fretted whether the United States government would be able to reach a deal to avoid a federal default.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was little changed in morning trading, gaining nearly 0.1% to 30,833.94. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.3% to 7,261.40. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.9% to 2,560.16. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.2% to 19,691.82, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 3,287.30.

Markets are closely watching a pivotal meeting set for later in the day at the White House between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. A default on the U.S. debt would almost surely cause a recession in the American economy, which would have damaging effects on global economies.

“It seems pretty likely that a full-fledged deal will be reached before early June, but the timing is hard to predict,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said of the U.S. efforts to avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.

“While negotiation strategy and political incentives imply a last-minute deal, we will soon find out if it’s baked beans or lobster during the Memorial Day holiday.”

Data for machinery orders in Japan for March, released Monday, highlighted a slowdown in the world's third-largest economy, with the key indicator falling 3.9% for the second-straight month of declines. But analysts think a recovery is coming during this quarter, as domestic manufacturing gradually rebounds from the various negative effects related to the pandemic.

Wall Street closed out last week lower. The S&P 500 slipped 6.07 points, or 0.1%, to 4,191.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.28, or 0.3%, to 33,426.63, while the Nasdaq composite gave up 30.94, or...