Bank earnings in the spotlight again for the S+P 500 later today

Yesterday the S+P 500 reached a new milestone, when it set a new all time record high at 5,666.94. The subsequent drop back and close at 5,631.22 was nevertheless a new record daily close for the index. The index future is right now a little above that close in terms of pricing the opening for later today. Yesterday we had the first of several major US banks reporting their Q2 earnings and today we get a couple more, as the broader US earnings season gets more fully underway. The results from Bank of America (BAC) are expected at 10.45am GMT and from Morgan Stanley (MS) at 11.30am GMT. They could have an impact on the index, but at the same time we have to remember; two stocks on their own can rarely have a major impact directly on such a broad-based index. However, they can lead direction, if that is the way of it. The S+P 500 is currently priced to open at around 5,638