Buoyant trading activity following Donald Trump’s election as US president helped Wall street heavyweight Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) double earnings in its latest quarter.
Net income rocketed to US$1.51bn in the final quarter to December from US$753mln a year earlier.
Earnings hit 81c from a comparable 39c. Market forecasts had been for around 65c.
Bond trading was especially active in the wake of the Trump victory with Morgan Stanley’s fixed income division seeing revenues triple to US$1.5bn.
Total sales and trading net revenue rose 39% to US$3.2bn.
Banks have been tipped to be a major beneficiary of the new president’s policies on hopes he will instigate substantial cuts in regulation.
And James Gorman, chief executive, said there was much better mood in the bank currently than a year ago.
"We are optimistic about opportunities in 2017,” he said.