By Joseph A. Giannone
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said its
quarterly earnings plunged after it absorbed $2.3 billion of
write-downs, but robust trading results helped the No. 2 U.S.
investment bank trounce expectations by a wide margin.
Morgan overall had the best quarter among the big Wall
Street banks, generating more profit than arch-rival Goldman
Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), suffering the smallest year-over-year profit drop
and posting a 20 percent return on equity.
Wednesday’s results gave a boost to Chief Executive John
Mack, trying to rally a bank that recorded $9.4 billion in
mortgage trading losses last year and steer it through the most
difficult market environment in decades.
The results also delivered a dose of good news to a market
shaken by the near collapse of No. 5 investment bank Bear
Stearns Cos (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and bracing for new signs of distress.
Goldman and Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) sparked a market rally
Tuesday with better-than-expected results, easing some
investors’ worries.
“We are all but out of the woods. What the Fed has provided
the banks is unprecedented, and helps take the liquidity issue
off the table,” said David Killian, a money manager at
StoneRidge Investment Partners.
The good feelings didn’t last long. Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
on Wednesday sued XL Capital Assurance, urging the insurer to
meet obligations for credit default swaps. That fueled
speculation that the largest brokerage faced another round of
steep write-downs, which sent its shares down 11 percent.
The news also reversed a bullish day for investment banks.
Morgan Stanley, whose shares had soared 19 percent Tuesday and
were up as much as 10 percent on Wednesday at $47.07, closed
just 1.4 percent higher at $43.45. Goldman shares ended the day
down 5 percent, while Lehman stock was down 9 percent.
POSITIVE SURPRISES Continued…
Tags: Bank, chief executive, credit default swaps, exec, Investment Bank, Investment Banks, lehman brothers, liquidity, market environment, merrill lynch, morgan stanley, nvestment Banks, orr, quarterly earnings, reuters, wide margin