The trading floor of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in Shanghai Photo: CFP

Asia Pacific stocks largely stay unmoved in the morning session on Thursday by the results of a historic vote that paves the way for to become the third US president in history to be impeached.

As of 9:55 am Beijing time, the Chinese mainland's flagship Shanghai Composite Index fell into slightly negative territory after opening mildly higher. The Hang Seng Index oscillated between 27,810.20 points and 27,908.78 points. Indian stocks and South Korean shares are among those in positive territory, while most of the stocks in the region including Japanese stocks, Singapore shares, and Australian stocks are seen posting small losses.

The House has voted in favor of two articles of impeachment, accusing Trump of abusing power and obstructing Congress, making Trump the third US president in history to be charged with impeachment, following Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Trump is awaiting a Senate trial. No president has been removed due to the impeachment nonetheless.

US stocks edged lower by the close of market on Wednesday.

The impact of the impeachment progress on the foreign exchange market has also proved neutral. The Chinese yuan's daily fixing rate was weakened by 56 basis points to 7.0025 against the US dollar on Thursday. The Chinese currency has strengthened beyond 7 against the dollar in the offshore market.