Asian stocks limp toward US debt denouement; Japan sparkles

Japanese stocks rose by 0.7% on Friday, with the Nikkei rising for a seventh consecutive week on the back of foreign inflows and production upgrades by US chip maker Nvidia. Meanwhile, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.3%, with stocks mostly subdued, apart from the Japanese market. However, Hong Kong exchanges were shut for a holiday. A deal is expected to be reached soon between President Joe Biden and Congress to raise the government’s debt ceiling; US Treasury estimates suggest it will run out of funds within a week in the absence of such a deal.