Bank stocks, including Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC), are at or near record highs following the release of their earnings reports.
Morgan Stanley reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of $2.80 per share on $18.22 billion in revenue, exceeding estimates. This marks the largest earnings beat in five years for the company.
Options traders are actively engaging with these stocks, with 52,000 calls changing hands, representing 12 times the average intraday amount and more than triple the number of puts traded.
The earnings reports from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are propping up Wall Street.
Author's summary: Bank stocks lead Wall Street with strong earnings.