The fourth-quarter 2012 corporate earnings season gets into full swing today with two of the biggest and most-keenly watched US banks – JP Morgan Chase (JPM:Nyse) and Goldman Sachs (GS:Nyse) – publishing results at 12:00 GMT and 12:30 GMT respectively.

Peter Garnry, equity analyst at Saxo Bank, notes that the market’s earnings estimates for Goldman Sachs declined quite rapidly during the first half of 2012 before spiking 20 percent higher in the second half. These heightened expectations of Goldman Sachs’ fourth-quarter results were due to rising stock markets and slightly increased market activity in the latter half of the year.

However, a sharp increase in earnings estimates over the last two weeks means that the upside potential for the stock today is somewhat muted. Key items to look out for in the earnings report are: Market activity in the fourth quarter of 2012; The outlook for the next two quarters; The pace of mergers and acquisitions activity.