Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday held an hour of talks to avoid a potential U.S. debt default.
The MSCI All-World index eased 0.1% on the day, while Europe’s STOXX 600 fell 0.1% and U.S. stock index futures showed a bit more pep, rising 0.3%. The U.S. dollar has rallied 2% against a basket of major currencies in the last month, as investors grow increasingly wary of a sharp slowdown in the U.S. economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which on Wednesday was trading around its highest since early April, has gained over 1.5% in the last week - making this its strongest week-on-week gain since late February.