Asian equity markets ended mostly in green on Thursday as investors monitored oil prices and kept an eye on Capitol Hill to see whether US President Donald Trump can close the deal on the Republican health care bill. The latest reports suggest that House Republicans may not have the votes to pass their healthcare plan. The Republican plan faces an even tougher uphill climb in the Senate, raising concerns about what the GOP can accomplish even with a unified government. If the healthcare bill fails, it could imperil Trump's other policies such as tax reform and increased infrastructure spending. Meanwhile, markets in the region largely shrugged off news of a suspected terrorist attack on Wednesday in London that left 5 people dead and about 40 injured. Japanese shares recovered earlier losses to end a tad higher as a weaker yen helped offset news that the head of a Japanese school at the heart of a political scandal received a donation of one million yen from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife in 2015. Further, Chinese shares ended higher despite investor worries over tight liquidity in the interbank market and increased regulatory scrutiny weighing heavily on B shares.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,248.55 | 3.33 | 0.10 |
Hang Seng | 24,327.70 | 7.29 | 0.03 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,563.76 | 29.67 | 0.54 |
KLSE Composite | 1,747.00 | -1.30 | -0.07 |
Nikkei 225 | 19,085.31 | 43.93 | 0.23 |
Straits Times | 3,126.93 | 8.74 | 0.28 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,172.72 | 4.42 | 0.20 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,930.74 | 8.08 | 0.08 |