Morgan Stanley returns to profit in third quarter

Morgan Stanley said on Wednesday that it had returned to profitability in the third quarter.

The New York-based bank holding company said it earned 498 million U.S. dollars or 38 cents a share, beating expectations.

Earnings from continuing operations were 757 million dollars in the third quarter, after a loss of 159 million dollars in the second quarter.

Net revenue in the third quarter was 8.7 billion dollars compared with 18 billion dollars a year ago. The bank said revenue in the most recent quarter was lower in part because of a continued improvement in debt-related credit spreads that reduced sales and trading revenue.

"Morgan Stanley continued to build momentum across our business this quarter," the chairman and chief executive, John J. Mack, said in a statement. "We still have work to do in sales and trading."

Shares of Morgan Stanley, which had reported per-share losses for three straight quarters before Wednesday, rose more than 6 percent in morning trading in the New York Stock Exchange.

Source:Xinhua