Equity traders fuel US bank profits as stock markets rally

Jul 16, 2024
equity-traders-fuel-us-bank-profits-as-stock-markets-rally

Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 3, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

July 16 (Reuters) – Equity traders rode high in the second quarter, propelling earnings across Wall Street banks.

“There’s a significant amount of geopolitical and election uncertainty around the world, but that tends to be an environment where clients reposition, and that tends to be a reasonably good environment for our sales and trading business,” Bank of America’s

(BAC.N), opens new tab

Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday.

BofA’s revenue from equities trading jumped 20% in the second quarter from a year ago to $1.9 billion. It rose because of “strong client activity” and a better performance in cash and derivatives, the bank said in a statement.

At Morgan Stanley

(MS.N), opens new tab

, equity revenue surged 18% to $3 billion.

The gains came from across businesses and regions, particularly Asia, helped by stronger client engagement and a “constructive” market environment, the bank said.

At rival Goldman Sachs

(GS.N), opens new tab

, equities revenue rose 7% to $3.17 billion during the same period, driven by derivatives, it said on Monday.

JPMorgan’s equity markets revenue jumped 21% to $3 billion, Citigroup’s

(C.N), opens new tab

increased 37% to $1.5 billion, and Wells Fargo’s

(WFC.N), opens new tab

surged 41% to $558 million, the banks reported on Friday in their second-quarter earnings.

Sign up here.

Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; writing by Lananh Nguyen; editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Leave a comment