By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures slipped on Wednesday ahead of a wave of banking sector earnings, with caution returning to the market after seven gains in a row for blue chips. S&P 500 futures dropped 5.8 points to 947.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 6.25 points to 1,547.70. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 71 points. U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday after Caterpillar's improved earnings outlook and Merck & Co.'s stronger-than-forecast results, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 67 points, the S&P 500 adding 3 points and the Nasdaq Composite rising 6 points. The Dow has climbed for seven sessions, the S&P 500 is up six out of the last seven trading days and the Nasdaq Composite has advanced for 10 sessions in a row. But bond markets also rallied as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stressed the need for fiscal responsibility as he said the central bank wasn't close to changing its ultra-low interest-rate policy. Bernanke is back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, this time speaking in front of the Senate Banking Committee. "Markets turned cautious after Bernanke's emphasis on downside risks to the U.S. economy and the need for low rates for an extended period. This hinted that a reversal of quantitative easing was not imminent in the coming months despite Bernanke's mention of exit strategies," said strategists at Credit Suisse in a note to clients. Also on the banking front, Morgan Stanley (MS 27.56, -0.78, -2.75%) , Bank of New York Mellon (BK 29.11, -0.41, -1.39%) and Wells Fargo (WFC 25.35, -0.17, -0.67%) all are scheduled to report results in a heavy day of reports from financial services firms. Other key earnings due Wednesday are from Pfizer (PFE 15.70, +0.44, +2.88%) and Boeing (BA 43.02, +0.82, +1.94%) . Apple (AAPL 151.51, -1.40, -0.91%) rose 3.5% in Frankfurt after the company's 15% profit rise on surging iPhone sales and typically conservative guidance. Starbucks (SBUX 14.69, -0.23, -1.54%) climbed 8% after it swung to a stronger-than-forecast $151.5 million profit as store traffic improved. In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 slipped 0.6% in morning trade, snapping a seven-session winning streak that had brought the market to the highest levels of 2009. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.7%, however, with Toshiba among the advancers after Apple's results. September-dated oil futures fell over $1 a barrel ahead of weekly energy inventories figures, due at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. The dollar drifted lower vs. the Japanese yen but rose against the euro. Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds were steady at 3.48%.

Source