US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq scale record highs as Netflix jumps; Biden takes office

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* Netflix projects an end to borrowing binge, shares surge
* Morgan Stanley gains as quarterly profit races past
estimates
* Joe Biden to be sworn in as U.S. President later in the
day
* Indexes up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 0.97%, Nasdaq 1.68%

(Updates to market open)
By Devik Jain and Medha Singh
Jan 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time
highs on Wednesday as Joe Biden prepared to take charge as U.S.
President, while Netflix shares surged after saying it will no
longer need to borrow billions of dollars to finance its TV
shows and movies.
Shares of the world's largest streaming service NFLX.O
surged 14% to add more than $30 billion to its market
capitalization, helping boost the broader tech-heavy Nasdaq 100
index .IXIC . Biden, due to take over as the 46th president of the United
States just after noon (1700 GMT) on Wednesday, will waste
little time turning the page on the Trump era, advisers said,
signing a raft of 15 executive actions on issues ranging from
the COVID-19 pandemic to the economy to climate change.
"It's all about the inauguration, focusing first on Biden
being placed into the office and then it's going to be about
earnings," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at
Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.
The Dow has gained about 57% in the four years since Donald
Trump assumed office on Jan. 20, 2017, which compares with a 72%
jump in the first term of the Obama administration.
Bets on a bigger pandemic relief plan and higher
infrastructure spending under the Biden administration, and a
Democrat-controlled Congress have been pivotal in driving major
U.S. stock indexes to all-time peaks this month.
Six of the 11 S&P sectors advanced in early trading, with
technology .SPLRCT , communication services .SPLRCL and
consumer discretionary .SPLRCD among the biggest gainers.
Wrapping up quarterly reports from major U.S. lenders,
Morgan Stanley MS.N climbed 0.8% after its quarterly profit
blew past estimates as the its trading business benefited from
coronavirus-induced volatility in financial markets. S&P 500 company earnings are expected to rise by 24% in 2021
after falling 15% in 2020, according to Refinitiv data. With
stock market valuations sitting close to a 20-year high,
investors are hoping corporate results and profit outlooks will
help them determine to what degree the valuations are justified.
At 10:12 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 164.52 points, or 0.53%, to 31,095.56, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 36.94 points, or 0.97%, to 3,835.85 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 219.91 points, or 1.68%, to 13,418.23.
UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N slid 0.7% after the health
insurer's quarterly profit slumped nearly 38%, weighed down by
costs related to its programs to make COVID-19 testing and
treatment more accessible for its customers. Procter & Gamble Co PG.N raised its full-year sales
forecast for a second time but its shares slipped about 0.7% as
it warned that the pace of sales might slow as vaccines roll
out. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.5-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.9-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 45 new 52-week highs and no new lows
while the Nasdaq recorded 382 new highs and six new lows.