The Treasury blamed this delay on an unprecedented volume of participation by small investors, on failure of Congress to act in a timely fashion on the debt ceiling legislation in April, and on an unanticipated failure of word processing equipment used to prepare check schedules.

FORBES: The Day the United States Defaulted on Treasury Bills

Shares of hearing implants maker Cochlear surged 16% in strong volume after the company said it had identified the cause for the failure of its top-selling device.

WSJ: Asian Shares Mixed