SQUAWK BOX, FRIDAY 19TH MAY, 2023

The G-7 summit kicks off in Hiroshima, Japan. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy will reportedly attend the meeting where Western leaders have vowed to harden their stance against Russia. In the U.S., there are signs an agreement on the debt ceiling could be reached with a vote as a early as next week to avoid a default ahead of the June 1st deadline. Wall Street indices are on track to post their best week since March and in Asia, the Nikkei hits its highest level since 1990. In retail news, Alibaba shares are down after the e-commerce giant missed expectations while Walmart hikes full-year guidance on the back of a robust Q1.