The S&P 500 rallied 93 percent from its low in March 2009 through yesterday as the Federal Reserve used large-scale asset purchases to buoy the economy and companies posted earnings that beat analysts' estimates. Of the 12 S&P 500 companies that have posted results so far this earnings season, 10 have beaten forecasts for per-share profit.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, in separate trips to the Capitol, made their cases for lifting the debt limit.

Adding more urgency to the dispute, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced yesterday it may downgrade the U.S. top-level credit rating, saying there is an increasing risk of a substantial policy stalemate enduring beyond any near-term agreement to raise the debt ceiling.

'Entangled'

The deadlock on fiscal policy has "only become more entangled" since April 18, when S&P placed a negative outlook on the U.S. AAA long-term rating, the service said in a statement. Moody's Investors Service placed the nation's credit rating under review for a downgrade on July 13.

Jeffrey Goldstein, Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance, said in a statement the warnings highlighted the need to "act expeditiously to avoid defaulting on the country's obligations and to enact a credible deficit-reduction plan that commands bipartisan support."

At a fifth consecutive negotiating session at the White House yesterday, Obama told congressional leaders to report to him by tomorrow morning on the type of deal their members can support, Democratic and Republican officials said.

The president wants the leaders to tell him whether they believe their caucuses can agree to a bipartisan deficit-cutting package of $2 trillion or more, or if they should resort to a backup plan that could raise the debt ceiling through the November 2012 elections while postponing detailed decisions about cuts.

Sounding Out Colleagues

Obama and lawmakers don't plan to hold another negotiating session today, and instead the congressional leaders will focus on sounding out their colleagues, Democratic and Republican aides said on condition of anonymity.

House Republicans and Democrats scheduled separate caucuses today. Obama told the lawmakers he may call another meeting over the weekend if no path forward has emerged, officials from both parties said.