(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Wednesday, as negotiations over the US debt ceiling make little headway.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open down 20.0 points, 0.3%, at 7,731.08 on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index ended down 26.62 points, 0.3%, at 7,751.08.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.0%, the S&P 500 down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.

US President Joe Biden said he was "optimistic" about securing a deal to avert a potentially catastrophic debt default, after he held talks with Republican leaders.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, however, said much work remained in negotiations to raise the federal borrowing limit and avert a default, with the deadline for agreement just days away.

Biden will cut short a major trip to Asia this week, returning Sunday to Washington for high-stakes negotiations with Republicans to avert a potentially catastrophic debt default, according to two people familiar with his plans.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2470 early Wednesday, lower than USD1.2486 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro traded at USD1.0861, unchanged from USD1.0862. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY136.73, up versus JPY136.53.

In Tokyo on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.8% at 30,087.37, having slightly earlier reached a new 33-year high at 30,115.32.

Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, official data showed, helped by a recovery in inbound tourism after pandemic border restrictions were lifted.

The 0.4% rise in gross domestic product beat market expectations of 0.2%, after hopes of a rebound fell flat in the final quarter of last year.

"The easing of Covid restrictions, along with government fiscal support, appears to have boosted consumption and investment. We anticipate some yield curve control policy adjustment at the upcoming June meeting, as we believe the macroeconomic conditions now support sustainable inflation above 2%," ING senior economist Min Joo Kang said.

Elsewhere in Asia, sentiment was less upbeat. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.5%.

Gold was quoted at USD1,988.96 an ounce early Wednesday, down sharply from USD2,001.14 on Tuesday.

Brent oil was trading at USD74.86 a barrel, unchanged from USD74.84.

Wednesday's economic calendar has a eurozone inflation reading at 1000 BST.

The local corporate calendar has annual results from consumer credit checking firm Experian, commercial property investor British Land, and athleisure retailer JD Sports.

By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

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