Veering away from a default crisis, the House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.

The hard-fought deal pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — a devastating economic upheaval if Congress failed to act. Tensions ran high throughout the day as hard-right Republicans refused the deal, while Democrats said "extremist" GOP views were risking a debt default as soon as next week.

Wall Street stocks fell early Wednesday as markets watched for progress on a deal to lift the U.S. debt limit and avoid a first-ever default -- with a vote in Congress expected later in the day.

Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3 percent to 32,930.42 and the broad-based S&P 500 Index fell 0.4 percent to 4,190.93.

Wall Street pointed mostly higher early Tuesday after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling.

Futures for the Dow were flat the S&P 500 rose 0.7% before the bell.

Global shares are mixed amid concerns over risks to the economic outlook in China and elsewhere.

France's CAC 40 shed 0.4% to 7,273.34. Germany's DAX rose 0.3% to 16,002.44, and Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% lower to 7,615.05. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2% higher while that for the S&P 500 rose 0.5%.

President Joe Biden says he "feels good" about the debt ceiling and budget deal negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as the White House and congressional leaders work to ensure its passage this week in time to lift the nation's borrowing limit and prevent a disastrous U.S. default.

Biden spent part of the Memorial Day holiday working the phones, calling lawmakers in both parties, as the president does his part to deliver the votes. A number of hard right conservatives are criticizing the deal as falling short of the deep spending cuts they wanted, while liberals decry policy changes such as new work requirements for older Americans in the food aid program.

The brief kidnap of a Saudi man in Lebanon will not affect the “promising” summer tourism season, the head of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners in Lebanon, Pierre Achkar, said.

Congratulating security forces on the “swift liberation” of the Saudi citizen, Achkar said such prompt action “sends a clear and firm message to anyone who dares to temper with security.”

World shares were mostly higher Monday after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling, though the measure requires approval by Congress.

Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai advanced while Hong Kong fell. Markets in London and Seoul were closed for a holiday and U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.

The reviews are starting to come in as details emerge about the debt ceiling agreement reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Even before seeing those details, some lawmakers were criticizing the deal as not doing enough to tackle the nation's debt, while others worried it's too austere and will harm many low-income Americans.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy announced a deal Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, dragging the United States back from the precipice of default with only a few days to spare.

Congress will vote on the deal to extend the government's borrowing authority on Wednesday, just shy of the June 5 "X-date" when the Treasury estimates the government will no longer be able to pay its bills, plunging the world's biggest economy into turmoil.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said that Democratic and Republican negotiators are on the verge of resolving a debt ceiling standoff, as the deadline for a potentially catastrophic U.S. default was pushed back to June 5.