Equity markets in the Asia-Pacific region increased, encouraged by hopes of a near-term resolution in US debt ceiling negotiations to avoid a debt default. Japan’s Nikkei index rose to a new 33-year high. The exception to the positive risk tone was China where emerging signs of a fading post-Covid bounce in economic activity weighed on asset prices. US Treasury yields were steady overnight but have risen in recent sessions as investors ponder whether the Fed might increase interest rates next month, although a ‘pause’ is still considered the more likely scenario. (full story)