Morgan Stanley shares surge after strong third-quarter earnings

NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. investment bank and financial service provider Morgan Stanley reported strong third-quarter results on Wednesday, beating analysts' expectations across its key divisions.

Shares of Morgan Stanley surged by 7.5 percent to a record high in early trading on Wednesday.

The bank posted earnings of 1.88 U.S. dollars per share, surpassing the 1.58-dollar estimate from LSEG, while its revenue reached 15.38 billion dollars in the third quarter, beating projections of 14.41 billion dollars.

The investment bank's profits rose by 32 percent compared to the previous year, totaling 3.2 billion dollars, and revenue grew by 16 percent, fueled by improved performance in wealth management, investment banking, and trading activities.

Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick highlighted the favorable global environment as a key driver of the bank's success, noting that the firm benefited from robust markets and increased business across its divisions.

"The firm reported a strong third quarter in a constructive environment across our global footprint," Pick said in a statement, citing "momentum in the markets and underwriting businesses on solid client engagement."

The wealth management division saw a 14 percent revenue increase to 7.27 billion dollars in the quarter, significantly above expectations. Equity trading revenue grew by 21 percent to 3.05 billion dollars, while fixed income trading revenue rose 3 percent to 2 billion dollars, both outperforming estimates.

Investment banking revenue surged by 56 percent from the previous year to 1.46 billion dollars, well ahead of forecasts, and the investment management division also delivered a 9 percent revenue increase to 1.46 billion dollars.

Morgan Stanley's strong results reflected broader gains across Wall Street, where firms like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup also reported better-than-expected revenues, driven by strong trading and investment banking activities amid market recovery and increased dealmaking as the Federal Reserve began lowering interest rates during the quarter.