Asian stocks rally, gold falls as Congress sets debt deal

Stocks jumped in Asia as the new trading week began after Democrats and Republicans reached a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and cut spending.

Gold fell and Treasury bond yields edged up. The dollar was mixed.

The Tokyo stock market’s Nikkei-225 index was up 180 points, or 1.8%, to 10,012 about two hours into the trading day Monday. Australia's main share index was up 1.9%, the South Korean market gained 1.7% and Hong Kong was up 1.5%.

Stocks had been pounded worldwide last week in part on fears that the U.S. might default on its debts. On Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average fell 4.2% for the week, its worst loss in a year.

Resolving the debt crisis would remove one stumbling block for markets. Now, investors are expected to shift their focus back to the global economy, which has weakened substantially in recent months.

But for the moment, at least, investors are pulling back from some of the classic havens that attracted money as Washington’s debt drama worsened.

Gold futures fell $13 to $1,615 an ounce in electronic trading Sunday evening, after reaching a record high of $1,628.30 on Friday in New York.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.83% from 2.80% on Friday.

Despite worries about possible default -- something that was never a serious risk in the eyes of many analysts -- Treasury yields had plunged on Friday after the government gave a dismally weak estimate of second-quarter economic growth.

That showed that, even as Congress’ gridlock over the debt ceiling put the world on edge, Treasuries were retaining their role as a place for capital to hide in times of economic uncertainty.

-- Tom Petruno

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