Markets rise before US healthcare vote; London flat after attack

LONDON: World stock markets mostly rose on Thursday as investors awaited a key US healthcare vote, while London turned flat one day after a terror attack killed three people in the heart of the capital.

Most Asian and European equities edged up and the dollar recovered somewhat as investors tracked a bounce in New York, with focus now on a crucial congressional vote on US healthcare reform later in the day.

However, markets had suffered a sharp sell-off Tuesday on fears that US President Donald Trump's economy-boosting measures could be delayed by his struggles to push through his repeal of Obamacare.

"Trump's healthcare vote could be key to markets," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

"Should the healthcare plan be approved by Congress then we could see a resumption of the Trump rally while a failure could leave markets vulnerable to a larger correction."

Expectations are that the tycoon's health system proposals will fall foul of lawmakers, including many Republicans, raising questions about the fate of promised infrastructure spending, tax cuts and deregulation.

Back in Europe on Thursday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index turned flat at midday, with the previous day's terror attack in the capital showing no noticeable effect on investor sentiment.

Three people were killed in an "Islamist-related" attack in Westminster in central London on Wednesday, when a man mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and then stabbed a police officer outside parliament before being shot dead.

In total, the assailant killed three people during the rampage: two members of the public and the stabbed police officer.

Forty people were hurt in the attack with 29 treated in hospital, including seven who remained in a critical condition on Thursday.

"Yesterday's terrorist attack in Westminster proved once again that markets are remarkably resilient in the face of such atrocities," said IG analyst Joshua Mahony.

"Terrorist attacks will typically only impact markets if they have a subsequent international military response.

"Memories of a rise in the French CAC index in the wake of the Paris atrocities goes to show that markets are rational and any selling is usually short-lived if such an attack bears little impact for the economy going forward."

The dollar enjoyed some tentative buying, edging up slightly against the euro and yen.

However, the greenback is still languishing at five-month lows against the Japanese unit after the Federal Reserve last Wednesday indicated its pace of interest rate hikes would likely be slower than thought.

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,325.62

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.4 percent at 11,951.78

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 5,005.66

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,431.16

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 19,085.31 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: FLAT at 24,327.70 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,248.55 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 20,661.30 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0773 from $1.0798

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2494 from $1.2483

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.99 yen from 111.15 yen

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 29 cents at $48.33 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP