Stock futures held steady overnight trading on Tuesday as investors awaited President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. S&P 500 futures are up 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.3%.
Netflix was up more than 10% in long-term trading after the company reported strong subscriber growth and said it is considering buying back shares. Netflix handily surpassed estimates for global paid net subscriber additions, reporting 8.5 million versus 6.47 million analysts expected.
Biden succeeds President Donald Trump as the 46th President of the United States shortly after noon ET. His inaugural address will focus on the need to rally the country on the heels of a violent riot on Capitol Hill and in the midst of extreme partiality in Congress.
Investors will also be looking forward to more information on Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 contingency plan revealed last week. On Tuesday, Janet Yellen, Biden’s designated candidate for finance minister, approved increased spending on aid and urged lawmakers to “act big.”
“Everything else could be in the background of events in Washington as investors look ahead to major policy changes and prospects for a new administration,” said JJ Kinahan, TD Ameritrade’s chief market strategist.
Wall Street started the week with modest gains. The Dow rose more than 100 points on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, making a two-day loss. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5% as major technology stocks recovered from last week’s sharp losses.
Biden’s stimulus proposal calls for direct payments of $ 1,400 to most Americans, as well as additional unemployment benefits and assistance from the state and local government. He also announced a sweeping plan to combat the pandemic in the US, including a nationwide vaccination campaign.
The US has fallen far short of its goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of last year. While the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed has delivered more than 31.1 million doses across the country, only 12.3 million people have been vaccinated.
“I believe there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to get through the next few months,” said Kristina Hooper, Invesco’s Chief Global Market Strategist. “I expect markets to continue to move in anticipation of a robust recovery later in 2021, when vaccines are widely distributed.”
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