Expect Strong Report From Morgan Stanley

 | Jul 16, 2014 12:13PM ET

This earnings season is expected to be strong across the board, which may help to explain why stocks are near all time highs. The banks were an exception to the rule heading into their quarterly reports, but profits surpassing expectations have elevated sentiment for the remaining financials. Most large financial institutions were expected to report significant contractions in earnings this quarter.

While earnings at the majority of the banks are down compared to last year, profits have come in much stronger than previously anticipated. So far already this earnings season Citigroup (NYSE:C), J P Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) have all come in well ahead ahead of Wall Street estimates, while Wells Fargo reported a 3% gain in year over year earnings but came in-line with Wall Street estimates.