Wall Street wavers ahead of the healthcare law vote

U.S. stock indices opened flat on Thursday as markets await the vote in Congress on the new healthcare law supported by the Trump administration, and in case of approval, it would open the door for more laws to pass quickly. 

Investors are interested in particular in corporate tax cuts laws and getting a huge stimulus package to develop infrastructure, which are all pending in the Congress backlog, and the success of passing the healthcare law would pave the way for the more market-oriented laws to pass as well. 

On the other hand, stocks were hurt after U.S. unemployment claims rose more than expected last week, rekindling tensions in the markets regarding the U.S. economy and how ready it is for more interest rates hikes this year. 

As for the dollar, it kept hovering near a seven-week low against a basket of currencies, after Fed Chair Yellen's speech today steered off monetary policy, in turn hurting the greenback. 

Standard and Poor's 500 fell 0.02%, or 0.57 points to 2,347.88, while Dow Jones shed 0.01%, or 0.79 points to 20,660.51. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ inched down 0.08%, or 4.61 points to 5,817.03.