By James Willhite 

-- U.S. stock futures gained ahead of a busy day of earnings reports and the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.5% Wednesday, while contracts linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 rose 1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.3%.

What's Coming Up

United Airlines and Alcoa will release quarterly results just after markets close.

The National Association of Home Builders housing market index for January, due at 10 a.m. ET, is expected to tick down to 85 from 86 a month earlier.

Mr. Biden will be sworn in as president at noon.

Market Movers to Watch

-- Netflix shares jumped more than 14% ahead of the bell after it said it added 8.5 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, ending last year with an additional 37 million altogether.

-- Procter & Gamble shares edged up 0.3% premarket after the maker of Gillette razors and Pampers diapers said sales surged in the most recent quarter.

-- Morgan Stanley shares gained 1.8% premarket after its quarterly results beat forecasts.

-- Shares of renewable energy company Gevo plunged more than 24% premarket after it said it is selling $350 million of shares in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market.

-- Investors raised their bets on online-betting company DraftKings, sending its shares up 4.4% premarket. Morgan Stanley lifted its rating of the stock.

-- UnitedHealth shares edged up 0.1% before the open. The company posted a drop in profit in the latest quarter compared with a year ago as patients returned to health-care providers and costs rose as the coronavirus pandemic wore on.

Market Fact

S&P 500 bank shares are now down just 10% from where they started 2020, but their multiples have actually expanded, from under 12 times forward earnings to nearly 14 times.

Chart of the Day

The best explanation for how stocks have moved this year is the raw price of the stock, with lower-priced ones doing better. But the price on its own carries virtually no useful information, writes columnist James Mackintosh.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 20, 2021 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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