By James Willhite 

Here's what we're watching ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday.

-- U.S. stock futures edged lower Wednesday ahead of key inflation data and a vote by lawmakers on impeaching President Trump during his final week in office. Contracts linked to the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.2%.

What's Coming Up

Griffon, Element Solutions and Primoris Services are among the companies participating in the CJS Securities New Ideas for the New Year Investor Conference.

The Fed releases its beige book report on U.S. economic conditions at 2 p.m. ET.

Market Movers to Watch

-- Homebuilder KB Home's shares climbed 4.8% ahead of the bell after it reported earnings that beat expectations, though the effects of the pandemic on orders and housing starts dragged on revenue.

-- General Motors shares drove 3.5% higher premarket after having closed at a record high on Tuesday.

-- Cryptocurrency miner Marathon Patent Group's shares dropped 19%. It announced a $250 million stock offering that it said would be used to fund operations and expansion.

-- Ally Financial shares jumped more than 6% premarket after it authorized a share repurchase plan and a dividend on its stock.

-- Los Angeles-based electric-vehicle company Canoo's shares shot 16% higher premarket.

-- Visa shares edged up 0.3% premarket after the credit-card giant abandoned its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of financial-technology firm Plaid amid a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit that challenged the deal.

-- Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna's stock dropped 1.1% premarket.

Market Fact

Shares of blank-check company ArcLight Clean Transition more than doubled on Tuesday to close at $25.20. The jump came after it said it had agreed to acquire and take public electric vehicle company Proterra in a deal that gives it an enterprise value of about $1.6 billion.

Chart of the Day

Sudden excitement about the flurry of startups going public through blank-check companies is enriching some of the biggest players in finance, particularly hedge funds.

Must Reads Since You Went to Bed

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SPAC Mania Gives Early Investors Steady Returns

Crypto Company BitGo Hires Coinbase's Former Compliance Chief

Biden Is Expected to Name Gary Gensler for SEC Chairman

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2021 08:10 ET (13:10 GMT)

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