US stocks slip ahead of debt-ceiling talks as default fears creep into markets

• US stocks slipped Tuesday as investors watched for updates on the debt ceiling stalemate.
• President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are scheduled to convene Tuesday to discuss the debt ceiling.

US stocks slipped Tuesday, with investors awaiting developments on the hotly contested debt ceiling stalemate.

President Joe Biden is set to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Tuesday afternoon to discuss the matter, and both sides have signaled that it's a chance for a conversation but a conclusion to the negotiations remains unlikely.

Meanwhile, more pressure was on regional banks stocks early Tuesday, with PacWest dropping more than 8% and Western Alliance slipping 3.1%.

On Wednesday, traders will be watching for the release of April's consumer price index report, and then the producer price index on Thursday.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,118.96, down 0.46%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,513.58, down 0.31% (105.11 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 12,196.56, down 0.49%

Here's what else is going on:

• The Fed's own experts warned of an economic slowdown caused by a credit crunch.
• Gold is surging thanks to de-dollarization and banking uncertainty.
• A key bond yield points to rate cuts on the horizon this year, but investors can't tell if that's good or bad news.
• FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried asked a US judge to drop most of the criminal charges against him.
• Vanguard shared four insights on navigating turbulent markets.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• Oil prices slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.15% to $72.32 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower 1% to $76.18 a barrel
• Gold edged lower to $2,033.20 per ounce
• The 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 3.52%
• Bitcoin moved higher 1.06% to $27,721.01