And BA/ML said banks' "trends in......>

US STOCK VIEW: And BA/ML said banks' "trends in loan growth" were "mixed" as

their banks team said "stocks had rallied ahead of earnings on the recent rise

in rates and expectations for tax reform, despite expected double-digit declines

in trading revenues and weak loan growth. But they view weakness in money-center

banks as opportunities, and Financials remains our preferred sector in addition

to Health Care. Estimates continue to fall on hurricane-related cuts."

- They add "bottom-up S&P 500 3Q EPS continued to fall (to $32.16 from $32.46),

as has typically been the case in (Earnings) Week 1, with downward revisions

still chiefly in Insurance, where analysts have cut 3Q EPS 70% over the past

three months, with earnings slated to be down 70% YoY."

- "While some further cuts may be likely, we believe the hurricane impact is

largely reflected in the numbers, with the biggest estimate cuts (outside of

Insurance) in recent months to industries that would have been impacted such as

Chemicals, Energy, Airlines, etc.," they said. "We expect EPS of $33.00 this

quarter, a 2% beat vs. consensus, given elevated positive surprises thus far,

the tailwind from FX, and continued strength from multinationals."