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Asian shares gain in cautious trade as focus on U.S. politics

Published 03/23/2017, 12:15 AM
Updated 03/23/2017, 12:16 AM
© Reuters.  Asian shares higher

© Reuters. Asian shares higher

Investing.com - Shares in Asia gained on Thursday with markets trading cautiously higher as investors awaited the fate of a key legislative plank of the Republican party-controlled congress and presidency to repeal and replace a healthcare law dubbed Obamacare.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan edged up 0.13%, while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.31%. The Shanghai composite traded up 0.31% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.3%.

In Hong Kong, shares of internet play Tencent fell 0.98% after its fourth-quarter profit lagged estimates. The Chinese investment holding company said after the market closed on Wednesday that net profit for the three months to December rose 47% to 10.53 billion yuan ($1.53 billion).

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, after a major sell-off during the previous session, as investors mulled over the upcoming healthcare vote while weaker than expected economic data dampened sentiment.

The three main U.S. indexes mostly traded mixed throughout the session, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq held firm while the Dow, which closed nearly 240 points lower in the previous session, struggled for upward momentum.

Investors continued to fret over a key House vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, fearing that a negative outcome would further delay the introduction of the Trump Administration’s pro-growth policies such as tax-reform.

House Republicans plan to vote on their bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on Thursday. Elsewhere, weaker than expected existing home sales weighed on sentiment as, The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales declined 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million units last month.

Economists had expected existing home sales to slow to 2%.

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