Stocks mixed ahead of US vote seen as Trump bellwether
Posted March 22, 2017 10:21 am.
Last Updated March 23, 2017 8:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TOKYO – Global stocks were mixed Thursday, as investors awaited a vote in the U.S. Congress on health care legislation that is seen as a bellwether for President Donald Trump’s ability to deliver on campaign promises of tax and regulatory reforms.
KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX was up 0.4 per cent at 11,949 and the CAC 40 in France rose 0.2 per cent to 5,003. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat at 7,325. U.S. markets looked set for a tepid start with Dow futures up less than 0.1 per cent and S&P 500 futures up 0.2 per cent.
HEALTHCARE VOTE: Republican leaders in Congress were looking to Trump to help win over a crucial bloc of conservatives in supporting the American Health Care Act before a House of Representatives vote on Thursday. Earlier in the week, shares fell on doubts over the outlook for Trump’s agenda of tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending.
ANALYST’S VIEWPOINT: “The implications of the health care reform bill vote may be more pronounced when the results arrive and I would not be surprised to find the market using this vote as a proxy in their expectations for future policies to be passed,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2 per cent to 19,085.31. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat at 24,327.70 and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2 per cent to 2,172.72. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 per cent to 3,248.55 and Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was up 0.4 per cent to 5,708.00. Shares were higher in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
ENERGY: U.S. crude oil gained 30 cents to $48.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 20 cents the day before. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 32 cents to $50.96 a barrel. It fell 32 cents on Wednesday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 111.05 yen from 111.17 yen. The euro fell to $1.0788 from $1.0797.
