Before the bell:

U.S. stocks were headed for early gains Wednesday as Apple's knockout results lifted the tech sector and speculation about a debt ceiling deal boosted the broader market.
U.S. stocks surged Tuesday, with the Dow staging its strongest one-day rally of the year after President Obama indicated he would support a plan to raise the debt ceiling that had been floated by a bipartisan group of senators.
Companies: Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) reported blowout earnings after the bell Tuesday -- hitting all-time highs with its quarterly profit and revenue, with iPhone and iPad sales. Shares were up 4% premarket.
BlackRock (BLK, Fortune 500) reported earnings of $3.00 per share on $2.35 billion in revenue Wednesday, topping analyst estimates by 12 cents.
S&P member Altria (MO, Fortune 500) reported earnings per share of 21 cents, down 58% in the second quarter. Most of the decrease was attributable to a one-time leveraged lease transaction.
After the bell, Dow components American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) and chipmaker Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) will issue their quarterly results.
Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) reported second-quarter earnings Tuesday evening that met Wall Street estimates. But the company reported weakness in display and search revenue, as well as a lower-than-expected outlook. Shares were off 1.4% in premarket trading.
Real estate site Zillow will make its public debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday under the ticker "Z."
Economy: The National Association of Realtors will release its report on existing home sales for June.
World markets:

Oil for August delivery increased $1.25 to $98.75 a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery dropped $13.30 to $1,587.80 an ounce. Gold prices settled at a record high of $1,603.50 an ounce on Tuesday.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.93% from 2.89% late Tuesday.