Asian equities were set to pull back on Wednesday as heightened concerns about coronavirus infections and the timing for a vaccine outweighed the lift from rebounding oil prices and upbeat corporate earnings in Europe.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were up 0.37per cent, Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures slipped 1.26per cent and Japan's Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.05per cent to be 1.13per cent below Tuesday's cash index close. The bill would give the president authority to impose a range of sanctions, including freezing assets, travel bans and visa revocations, as well as restrictions on loans to Chinese businesses by U.S. institutions and bans on U.S. listings by Chinese firms.
In commodity markets, oil prices rose after OPEC's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, said it would increase supply curbs in June, while other members of the oil-producing group said they want to extend the deep cuts reached in April for a longer period than originally agreed.