Asia markets are set for another session under pressure after U.S. equities closed mixed as traders await a key U.S. health care vote in Congress.
Nikkei futures in Chicago traded down 0.16 percent at 19,010, futures in Osaka traded down 0.63 percent at 18,920. The Nikkei 225 last closed sharply lower by 2 percent to 19,041.38.
The Australian benchmark ASX 200 was up 0.09 percent.
Over in Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.03 percent to 20,661.3, the S&P 500 closed up 0.19 percent at 2,348.45 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.48 percent to end at 5,821.64.
Later on Thursday in the U.S., the House is expected to vote on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s healthcare plan, but the Obamacare replacement has seen resistance not just from Democrats, but from conservative GOP members too.
“This vote then, during Asian trade tomorrow, will be seen as a proxy for the strength of the mandate that Trump’s has to govern,” explained Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, in a Thursday note.
The market’s concern is that a prolonged battle in Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare could delay tax reform, deregulation and government spending.
“There is no tax reform without the Ryan healthcare plan voted through, although the likelihood is it will be reworked again and voted on again in the future,” he added.
Also catching attention is a Wednesday afternoon terror incident in London which left five dead, including an attacker and a police officer. A suspected terrorist plowed a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge and then fatally stabbed a police officer before being shot.
The pound fell to a low of $1,2426 after loud bangs were heard outside the British parliament. By Asian early morning, sterling traded stronger at $1.2470 against the greenback.
The dollar was trading at 99.677 against a basket of currencies at 6:54 am HK/SIN. Against the greenback, the yen traded at 111.24, strengthening for the eighth consecutive session.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will give the keynote speech at the Federal Reserve System Community Development Research conference on “Strong Foundations: The Economic Futures of Kids and Communities.”
Oil prices slipped on Wednesday after Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed that U.S. stockpiles climbed almost 5 million barrels to 533.1 million last week, beating forecasts of a 2.8 million-barrel increase.
Brent crude fell 0.6 percent to settle at $50.64 a barrel, and tested the $50 mark. U.S. crude settled down 0.4 percent at $48.04.
— Fred Imbert contributed to this report