Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(NYSE:GS) saw its shares retreat in pre-market trading after the investment bank saw quiet trading conditions and a one-time tax hit push the group to its first quarterly loss in six years.
For the fourth quarter, the Wall Street firm posted a loss of US$1.93bn on revenue of US$7.83bn, both lower than market forecasts.
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The numbers were hit by a US$4.4bn income tax expense resulting from the new tax law which wiped out the firm's entire quarterly profit and much of its earnings for the year.
Excluding the charge, however, Goldman's profit of US$5.68 a share was above the US$4.91 consensus forecast
The bank also faced a tough comparison with the fourth quarter of 2016, when a surge in US election-related trading activity and a year-end rush to close big deals helped it to a strong quarterly performance.
In pre-market New York trading, Goldman shares were down 0.3% at US$257.69.