As the earnings season gains momentum, the banking industry on Wall Street is taking the spotlight. Bank stocks are dominating, with Morgan Stanley reporting stellar earnings for the September quarter.
Morgan Stanley’s stock surged 6.5% after beating estimates for both third-quarter profit and revenue. The bank reported a 32% increase in profit to $3.2 billion ($1.88 per share), while revenue jumped 16% to $15.38 billion.
Morgan Stanley joined other household names on Wall Street to show off impressive September-quarter financial results. JPMorgan kicked off the earnings seasons, revealing that US consumers and businesses remained resilient. The bank reported earnings of $4.37 per share, beating expectations of $4.01, with revenue hitting $43.32 billion, above the anticipated $41.63 billion and last year’s $39.9 billion.
Goldman Sachs followed with its own impressive third-quarter results, posting earnings per share of $8.40, far exceeding Wall Street’s estimate of $6.89. The investment bank's net income surged 45% to $3 billion, while revenue rose 7% to $12.7 billion.
In this upbeat environment, the Dow Jones index jumped to a new record high of 43,077 points, as investors pushed the index up 0.8% during the session.
The buying momentum extended to the S&P 500, which rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite, up 0.3%.
However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was more subdued, with traders feeling jittery ahead of the upcoming wave of tech earnings. The Magnificent Seven mega-cap stocks are set to start reporting next week. After the closing bell today, Netflix is expected to report earnings, with forecasts of $5.12 per share and revenue of $9.77 billion.