US Congress Votes Trump's Health Care Bill - Live Stream

After postponing the vote on Thursday, Republicans are getting ready to vote on the American Health Care Act. According to prior surveys, the outcome should be a very close call despite President Trump and other Republicans were trying to persuade wary members to back the bill, allowing more chances to get passed.

Once (and if) the bill passes today, it will go to the Senate, where further amendments have been promised.

Republicans pledged to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ‘Obamacare’. The American Health Care Act, or ‘Trumpcare’, eliminates the requirement that all US citizens have insurance, significantly reduces Medicaid and ends ACA taxes.

US stocks edge higher, healthcare bill vote awaited

Major US equity indices witnessed a positive opening on the last day of the week but the up-move lacked momentum as investors await a postponed vote on a closely watched health care bill.

Voting on the key health-care legislation would a key test for the Trump administration and would determine the fate of Trump's promised pro-growth economic policies. Any notable shortfall would seriously dent investors' confidence and might eventually result into another sell-off in the markets.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added around 35-points to 20,695, while the broader S&P Index was up nearly 7-points to 2,353. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed and gained 33-points to 5,850. With today’s modest rise, DJIA snapped six consecutive days of losing streak but still remain on track for their worst weekly performance since November.

Meanwhile, market reaction to durable goods orders was largely muted, albeit remains supportive for the prevalent positive trading sentiment. According to the data released by the Commerce Department, new orders for durable goods climbed 1.7% in February, rising for the second straight month.