Creeping optimism that a deal will be reached over the U.S. debt ceiling standoff looks to be just about enough to sustain investors' risk appetite, although Asian markets on Tuesday could be vulnerable to a reversal.
Japanese stocks are on a roll. The Nikkei last week joined the broader Topix index and hit a new 33-year peak, closing on Monday above 31,000 points for the first time since August 1990. U.S.-China relations took a turn for the worse, meanwhile, after Beijing late on Sunday banned U.S.-based Micron Technology Inc selling its memory chips to key domestic industries.
Micron's loss could be their Chinese and South Korean rivals' gains, however, as Chinese mainland firms seek memory products from other sources.