Investing.com -- Investors look ahead to a crucial vote in Congress on this weekend's deal to lift the U.S. debt ceiling, with only days left until the world's largest economy is expected to tip into a possible default. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's future rate path is in focus, while Turkey's lira slides against the dollar following the re-election of long-time president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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1. Debt ceiling deal forged
U.S. Congressional lawmakers face a crucial vote on a tentative deal to raise the country's $31.4 trillion debt limit and avoid a potentially catastrophic default.
The agreement, forged by President Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend after weeks of political wrangling, will lift the debt ceiling until 2025 and cap non-defense spending for the next two years.
Both Biden and McCarthy said the accord is a child of compromise, although its terms have already received backlash from some members of their respective parties.
The so-called Freedom Caucus - a collection of hard-line conservative Republicans - criticized the deal for not including a number of deep spending cuts. Leftwing Democrats, meanwhile, have chastised Biden for conceding on too many key issues.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate are anticipated to vote on the deal later this week. All the while, the clock is still ticking toward June 5, when the Treasury Department now expects the federal government to run out of money to pay its bills.
2. Asian markets rise after debt limit agreement
Most Asian markets advanced on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei in particular touching a more than three-decade high, as stocks were spurred higher by optimism over the debt ceiling deal and artificial intelligence.
The fraught negotiations over the borrowing limit in Washington had rattled investors in recent weeks, especially as officials warned that a U.S. default could have dire consequences for the global economy.
Asia's stand-out performer was the Nikkei 225, which jumped at one point to its highest level since 1990. The gains were driven by chipmaking and technology shares, in a sign of persistently rosy hopes that a recent surge in interest in artificial intelligence will support the near-term performance of these companies.
Australia's ASX 200 and the Taiwan Weighted index also rose. However, the blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 in China dipped following lingering uncertainty over the country's ongoing recovery.
Elsewhere, stocks in Europe edged up, although volumes were light with the U.K. and several other countries in the region closed. In the U.S., markets will be shuttered today for the Memorial Day holiday.