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Morgan Stanley’s Earnings Fall 9% on Lower Investment-Banking Revenue

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Oct 18 (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley’s (MS.N) third-quarter profit showed a hit from lethargic dealmaking and shares sank 6.5% as investors were also disappointed by smaller inflows to the wealth management division and the lack of announcements in the CEO succession.

The bank saw a 27% drop in investment banking revenues from a year earlier and sluggish trading as dealflow took a hit when geopolitical risk rose and the Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates. Morgan Stanley underperformed the market, with global investment banking fees down 17% in the quarter according to Dealogic.

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“The market was disappointed with wealth management and investment banking, divisions that have represented tailwinds to Morgan Stanley, said Jason Ware, Chief Investment Officer at Albion Financial Group.

The wealth division and trading unit were hit by the rise in interest rates as clients opted to invest in money market funds instead of putting it in wealth management portfolios, he added.

“When people have a choice of making 4%, 5% return by doing nothing, they’re not going to be trading in the market,” Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman told investors. He said clients kept a cash position of around 23%, that he expects to go down as interest rates retreat over the next years.

The bank’s profit dropped about 9% to $2.4 billion, or $1.38 per diluted share, a smaller drop than analysts had expected. Analysts had forecast $1.28 per share, according to LSEG IBES data.

Including Wednesday’s performance, Morgan Stanley shares are down 12% so far this year. The S&P 500 bank index (.SPXBK) is down 11%.

Kenneth Leon, research director at CFRA Research, on Wednesday reduced its 12-month price target for the bank by $6 to $90 a share, but kept a ‘buy’ rating.

Analysts at Evercore complained about the lack of news on the long-anticipated CEO succession, which they said “is a mistake by the Board as more time can only increase angst and divide parties.”

CEO James Gorman, who has run the Wall Street giant since 2010, announced in May that he would step down within a year. On Wednesday, he said the bank was close to an announcement.

The strongest candidates are co-presidents Ted Pick and Andy Saperstein, respectively heads of institutional securities, which includes investment banking and trading, and wealth management, while Dan Simkowitz, head of asset management, is also being considered, Reuters has reported, citing a source.

INVESTMENT BANKING

Gorman said although he saw recent improvement in M&A and capital markets transactions, he expected most of the activity to materialize next year.

Morgan Stanley’s revenue in fixed income underwriting fell even as rivals grew in the segment. CFO Sharon Yeshaya said the bank could not be compared to rivals as it has considered capital allocation rather than only fees in debt transactions.

Trading was also muted, with a 2% rise in equity trading and 11% drop in fixed income. The CEO has said the results of each unit will not be a factor in choosing the next CEO.

CRE WEAKNESS

Morgan Stanley also set aside $134 million in provisions for credit losses, surging from $35 million in the same quarter last year, driven by worsening conditions in commercial real estate (CRE). Part of the growth was a provision to cover losses with one specific loan that was not disclosed.

The results round out a largely upbeat reporting season for Wall Street’s biggest banks, which benefited from rising income from interest payments.

Profit at rival Goldman Sachs also dropped less than expected in the third quarter.

Reporting by Manya Saini, Noor Zainab Hussain and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Tatiana Bautzer, Sinead Carew, Saeed Azhar and Carolina Mandl in New York; Editing by Megan Davies, Lananh Nguyen, Shounak Dasgupta and Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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