Investing.com – Wall Street with slight gains near midday trading on Thursday as investors waited for the outcome of Congress’ vote on the healthcare plan in what would be a first test of U.S. President Donald Trump’s capacity to push forward with policy changes, before tackling tax reform, spending and deregulation.
At 11:44AM ET (15:38GMT), the Dow Jones gained 74 points, or 0.36%, the S&P 500 rose 9 points, or 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 15 points, or 0.26%.
Repealing and replacing Democratic former President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act is a first major test of Trump’s legislative ability and whether he can keep his big promises to business.
According to reports, the White House offered to get rid of a list of “essential health benefits” in a move to garner support from the House's conservative Freedom Caucus that has been opposed to the bill.
The Freedom Cause had said that 25 of its members were against an earlier version of the bill and it was thought that Trump could afford to lose no more than 22 in order for his replacement plan to pass.
Investors see the Trump administration's struggles to push through the healthcare overhaul as a sign he may also face setbacks delivering on the promises for tax cuts, regulatory reform and infrastructure spending.
Strategists have been cautioning for weeks that markets are pricing in a scenario where nothing goes wrong with Trump's agenda.
House speaker Paul Ryan had scheduled a press briefing for Thursday afternoon at 3:30PM ET (20:3GMT).
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen made no comments on monetary policy or the economy in her opening remarks to the 2017 Federal Reserve System Community Development Research Conference although Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed chief Rob Kaplan were still scheduled for appearances later in the day.
Markets put bests for the next rate hike to come at the July meeting, with odds at about 56%, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Earlier on Thursday, initial jobless claims unexpectedly increased last week, although the numbers remained consistent with a firming labor market.
In positive news, new home sales surged 6.1% in February, reaching 592,000 units, its highest level since July 2016.
Meanwhile, oil prices turned lower during North American morning hours on Thursday, as an overnight bounce lost steam amid ongoing concerns over a global supply glut.
Market players looked ahead to the technical committee meeting this weekend that will analyze compliance by major oil producers on agreed production cuts and where ministers were expected to discuss the possibility of an extension of the deal from June.
U.S. crude futures lost 0.56% to $47.77 by 11:46AM ET (15:46GMT), while Brent oil traded down 0.14% to $50.57.