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Morgan Stanley reported a 26 per cent rise in first-quarter profits, powered by its equities trading business, which benefited from volatile financial markets during the early months of the Trump administration.
The US bank said on Friday it had made net income of $4.3bn in the three months to the end of March, more than a quarter higher than the same period last year and beating analysts’ estimates of $3.7bn.
“These results demonstrate the consistent execution of our clear strategy to drive durable growth across our global footprint,” said chief executive Ted Pick.
The robust performance was fuelled by the bank’s equities trading business, which posted a 45 per cent surge in revenues to $4.1bn during the period. The fixed income trading arm reported a 5 per cent rise in revenues to $2.6bn.
Net new assets at its wealth management business came in at $94bn for the quarter, slightly lower than the same period last year, but comfortably beating analysts’ expectations.
While choppy financial markets have been a boon for trading activity, they have hit the outlook for investment banking advisory work as clients reassess deals. This concern has worsened over the past 10 days with the US’s plans for sweeping global tariffs.
Morgan Stanley’s investment banking revenues climbed 8 per cent in the first quarter to $1.6bn, although much of this was from fees being paid for deals that had already been announced.
Shares in Morgan Stanley were up about 1 per cent in pre-market trading in New York.
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