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Tag: Morgan Stanley

  • Elon Musk Loses Half of xAI’s Founding Team—Where They’ve Gone Next

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    Elon Musk’s xAI has lost half of its 12-person founding team. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

    Just days after Elon Musk merged his A.I. startup, xAI, with SpaceX in preparation for a widely anticipated trillion-dollar IPO later this year, two of xAI’s founding employees—Yuhuai (Tony) Wu and Jimmy Ba—announced their resignations. That means half of xAI’s founding team has now left the company barely three years after its launch. Musk framed the staff exodus as growing pains. “As a company grows, especially as quickly as xAI, the structure must evolve just like any living organism. This unfortunately required parting ways with some people. We wish them well in future endeavors,” he wrote on X yesterday (Feb. 11).

    Wu and Ba’s exits appeared amicable. But lower-level employees have been more candid about internal tensions at the Musk-run startup. Several members of xAI’s technical staff have also left in recent weeks, according to their posts on X and LinkedIn.

    “All A.I. labs are building the exact same thing, and it’s boring,” said Vahid Kazemi, who worked on xAI’s audio models, in a post on X. “I think there’s room for more creativity. So, I’m starting something new.”

    In an interview with NBC News, Kazemi also criticized the company’s working culture, saying he regularly worked 12-hour days, including holidays and weekends.

    Launched in March 2023 with a roster of industry veterans from companies like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla, xAI will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX. The new iteration of SpaceX faces no shortage of challenges: Grok continues to face legal scrutiny, while Musk’s leadership style remains a point of contention.

    Here are the co-founders and notable leaders who have left xAI so far—and where they are now.

    Jimmy Ba

    Jimmy Ba, who led A.I. safety at xAI, announced his exit on Feb. 10. A professor at the University of Toronto who studied under A.I. pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, Ba’s research played a key role in shaping Grok’s development.

    “So proud of what the xAI team has done and will continue to stay close as a friend of the team,” Ba wrote on X. He hasn’t announced his next move, but added that “2026 is gonna be insane and likely the busiest (and most consequential) year for the future of our species.”

    Despite Ba’s departure, Dan Hendrycks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for AI Safety, remains a safety advisor for xAI.

    Yuhuai (Tony) Wu

    Tony Wu, a former research scientist at Google and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, announced his departure from xAI on Feb. 9.

    Wu led xAI’s reasoning team. “It’s time for my next chapter…It is an era with full possibilities: a small team armed with AIs can move mountains and redefine what’s possible,” he wrote on X.

    Wu has not disclosed his next role. Co-founders Guodong Zhang and Manuel Kroiss remain at xAI and are helping lead the company’s reorganization.

    Mike Liberatore

    While not a founding member, Mike Liberatore joined xAI as chief financial officer in April 2025, just one month after xAI acquired X in a deal that valued the combined company at $113 billion.

    Liberatore, formerly a finance executive at Airbnb and SquareTrade, left after only three months. He now works as a business finance officer at OpenAI, according to LinkedIn.

    Musk replaced Liberatore with ex-Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong. Armstrong advised Musk on his Twitter (now X) acquisition in 2022 and later served as a senior advisor at the Office of Personnel Management during Musk’s controversial tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    Greg Yang

    Greg Yang spent nearly six years as a researcher at Microsoft before joining xAI’s founding team. He left the company in January due to health complications from Lyme disease.

    “Likely I contracted Lyme a long time ago, but until I pushed myself hard building xAI and weakened my immune system, the symptoms weren’t noticeable,” Yang wrote on X. He continues to advise xAI in an informal capacity.

    Igor Babuschkin

    Igor Babuschkin, a former research engineer at OpenAI and Google DeepMind, was a co-founder and key engineering lead at xAI. Widely known as the primary developer behind Grok, Babuschkin left in July 2025 to start his own venture capital firm, Babuschkin Ventures, focused on A.I. research and startups.

    Christian Szegedy

    Christian Szegedy spent 12 years at Google before joining xAI as a founding research scientist. He left xAI in February 2025 to become chief scientist at superintelligence cloud company Morph Labs.

    More than a year later, he departed that role to found mathematical A.I. startup Math Inc. in September, according to his LinkedIn.

    “I left xAI in the last week of February and I am on good terms with the team. IMO, xAI has a bright future,” Szegedy wrote on X.

    Other senior engineers and scientists at xAI include Yasemin Yesiltepe, Zhuoyi (Zoey) Huang and Yao Fu.

    Kyle Kosic

    Kyle Kosic left OpenAI in early 2023 after two years to co-found xAI, where he served as engineering infrastructure lead. He departed about a year later, in April 2024, to return to OpenAI as a technical staff member.

    Kosic was the first co-founder to leave xAI and did not issue a public statement. It is unclear who now leads xAI’s engineering infrastructure, though another co-founder, Ross Nordeen, remains the company’s technical program manager after previously holding the same role at Tesla.

    Elon Musk Loses Half of xAI’s Founding Team—Where They’ve Gone Next

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    Rachel Curry

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  • Goldman Sachs’ Information Chief Marco Argenti Deepens A.I. Push with Anthropic

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    Marco Argenti says A.I. agents are becoming “digital co-workers” across Goldman’s operations. Courtesy Goldman Sachs

    Marco Argenti, chief information officer at Goldman Sachs, is leading one of Wall Street’s most aggressive integrations of A.I. He has made a name for himself as an early adoptor of A.I. in finance through initiatives like the GS AI Assistant platform, which is offered to Goldman Sachs employees for tasks such as coding and translation, and last year’s pilot of A.I. software engineer Devin, made by Cognition Labs. More recently, the investment bank has been collaborating with Anthropic, using its Claude model primarily in its accounting and compliance departments, Argenti said in an interview with CNBC published today (Feb. 6).

    The goal is to speed up tasks that involve massive amounts of data without investing in more manpower. “Think of it as a digital co-worker for many of the professions within the firm that are scaled, complex and very process-intensive,” Argenti said.

    Argenti spent much of his career in the tech and cloud computing industries before joining Goldman Sachs in 2019. He previously served as vice president of technology at Amazon Web Services, overseeing serverless computing and virtual reality. Earlier in his career, he led developer experiences at Nokia.

    Anthropic is known for its A.I. coding assistant, which is widely used by engineers. Goldman Sachs quickly realized that the traits that make a good coder—such as applying logic and working with large volumes of complex data—could be applied to tasks across accounting and compliance, Argenti said. Outside those departments, Claude agents could also be used for employee surveillance and creating investment banking pitchbooks for clients, he revealed.

    Goldman Sachs and Anthropic did not respond to requests from Observer to comment on those efforts.

    A collaboration with Goldman Sachs is the latest win for Anthropic, which has positioned itself as an enterprise-focused A.I. company. Earlier this week, the startup’s release of coworking software with various industry plug-ins triggered a panic selloff in enterprise software stocks, as investors worried such tools could make existing products obsolete.

    Other Wall Street giants are also embracing A.I. agents. JPMorgan Chase currently has more than 500 A.I. use cases, ranging from customer service to idea generation and marketing, and draws upon models from both Anthropic and OpenAI to power its internal LLM Suite program. Morgan Stanley was an early client of OpenAI, using its tech to distill meeting notes, aid financial research and boost coding productivity.

    A.I.’s use in financial services has grown each year since 2022, according to a recent Nvidia survey, in which 100 percent of industry professionals said A.I. spending will either stay the same or increase in 2026. A.I. agents, in particular, are being used or assessed by 42 percent of respondents. Top workflows include knowledge management and retrieval, internal process optimization and customer support automation.

    Such widespread adoption will inevitably lead to industry-wide labor shifts. A.I. leaders and studies alike have warned that the technology could reshape or eliminate entry-level white-collar roles. It’s unclear how the use of A.I. would affect Goldman Sachs’ employees. But Argenti conceded that A.I.’s advancements could eliminate the need for third-party providers.

    Goldman Sachs’ Information Chief Marco Argenti Deepens A.I. Push with Anthropic

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    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

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  • Excluding Chinese parts could triple Tesla Optimus costs – Tech Digest

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    Tesla’s ambition to bring the production of its humanoid robot, Optimus, back to the United States faces a massive financial reality check.

    According to a recent research note from Morgan Stanley, abandoning the Chinese supply chain could nearly triple the manufacturing costs of the robot, threatening Elon Musk’s goal of making the technology affordable for the masses.

    The investment bank estimates that the current bill of materials (BOM) for an Optimus Gen 2 unit stands at approximately $46,000 when leveraging China’s established robotics ecosystem.

    However, if Tesla were to shift to a purely “non-China” supply chain, those costs are projected to skyrocket to $131,000 per unit. This spike is driven primarily by the high cost of mechanical “body” parts – such as actuators, motors, and reducers -where China currently holds a dominant 63% global market share.

    For Tesla, this cost gap represents a significant roadblock. Elon Musk has repeatedly stated a target price of around $20,000 to $30,000 for the finished robot, aiming to make it cheaper than a small car.

    In contrast, Chinese competitors such as Unitree are already leveraging their domestic manufacturing infrastructure to sell robots like the G1 for as little as $16,000.

    The divide highlights an emerging “U.S. brain, Chinese body” split in the robotics industry. While American firms like Tesla, NVIDIA, and Google lead in “physical AI” – the software and intelligence required for robots to navigate the real world – the physical hardware remains tethered to Chinese factories.

    The dependence is so deep that industry insiders have dubbed the network of Chinese suppliers the “Optimus Chain,” mirroring the massive supplier ecosystem Apple built for the iPhone.

    Despite Tesla’s plans to repurpose its Fremont factory for humanoid production, Morgan Stanley warns that escaping this dependence is likely to prove impossible in the short term. With China offering lucrative tax benefits and subsidies for the industry, the cost advantages of “Made in China” remain a critical pillar of Musk’s robotic revolution.


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    Chris Price

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  • Adani Power Shares Jump 29% On Morgan Stanley’s ‘Overweight’ Call

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    Mumbai:

    Shares of Adani Power Ltd (APL) surged in the morning trade on Friday after global brokerage Morgan Stanley initiated ‘Overweight’ on the company with a target price of Rs 818, projecting an upside of 29 per cent from its previous closing price.

    The brokerage said in a note that Adani Power is “a good illustration of turnaround in India’s corporate history, with resolution on most regulatory issues and multiple value-accretive acquisitions”.

    “APL will deliver strong earnings growth driven by timely completion of projects and more PPA wins medium term. Initiate at OW (Overweight) and Top Pick,” said the brokerage.

    New coal power purchase agreements (PPAs) should improve investor confidence in earnings power, Morgan Stanley added.

    It also forecast that the company’s capacity and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will rise 2.5 times and 3 times by the financial year 2033, respectively.

    “We believe coal holds the key to India’s energy security, with nuclear being a driver in the next decade. India is looking to add 80GW of coal by F32; there is currently a large power purchase agreement (PPA) pipeline of 20GW,” according to the note.

    The stock was trading about 7-8 per cent up in the morning trade. Shares of Adani Power ended the previous session 0.5 per cent up.

    Adani Ports is India’s largest independent power producer and second-largest power producer (after NTPC) with 8 per cent share in both coal and generation.

    “We forecast its market share to reach 15 per cent by F32e with a 41.9GW portfolio (2.5x vs F25). APL has seen favourable resolution of most regulatory issues and has a strong balance sheet (F25 net debt/EBITDA: 1.5x). We expect 60-65 per cent of its US$27 billion capex for a 23.7GW addition to be met through internal accruals,” said the brokerage.

    Incrementally timely project completions (land acquired, boiler- turbine-generator orders placed, construction execution by Adani Group, and lower external debt) combined with PPAs getting signed would drive earnings.

    “We see upside to our estimates if APL’s merchant portfolio declines from 20 per cent currently, and profitability in recently acquired 2.9GW power plants improves,” the brokerage note said.

    (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

    (Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)


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  • Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley defeat Archegos investors’ insider trading appeals

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    By Jonathan Stempel

    NEW YORK (Reuters) -Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) defeated appeals by investors who said the banks’ market manipulation and insider trading fueled the March 2021 collapse of Archegos Capital Management, the $36 billion family office run by the since-convicted Bill Hwang.

    In a 3-0 decision on Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Archegos was not an insider that owed fiduciary duties to companies whose stocks it owned.

    This meant Archegos did not make Goldman and Morgan Stanley liable for allegedly front running the market by tipping them about its impending collapse, the court said.

    Goldman and Morgan Stanley were accused in seven lawsuits of using their knowledge of Archegos’ illiquidity to dump billions of dollars of Hwang’s favorite stocks including ViacomCBS, Discovery, and five Chinese companies such as Baidu.

    Investors in those stocks said the Wall Street banks, which had been two of Archegos’ prime brokers, should cover their losses because they knew Hwang could not meet margin calls and also had to sell.

    Lawyers for the investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Goldman and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

    Archegos’ collapse stemmed from Hwang’s use of financial contracts known as total return swaps to build an estimated $160 billion of stock exposure.

    The collapse also caused billions of dollars in losses for banks such as Credit Suisse, which was later bought by Swiss rival UBS, and Japan’s Nomura Holdings.

    Writing for the appeals court, Circuit Judge Maria Araujo Kahn also said Goldman and Morgan Stanley did not agree to act in Archegos’ best interest, and found no proof they tipped preferred clients about its travails.

    Hwang and former Archegos chief financial officer Patrick Halligan were convicted of fraud in July 2024, and later sentenced to 18 years and eight years in prison, respectively.

    Both are appealing and free on bail. Hwang created Archegos in 2013, after his Tiger Asia funds settled a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission insider trading case the prior December.

    In July, Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo agreed to pay a combined $120 million to settle a lawsuit by former ViacomCBS shareholders who said the banks hid conflicts of interest.

    Tuesday’s decision upheld a March 2024 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan.

    The cases are In re Archegos 20A Litigation, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 24-1159, 24-1161, 24-1162, 24-1166, 24-1173, 24-1177 and 24-1178.

    (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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  • Morgan Stanley Maintains a Buy on Full Truck Alliance Co. (YMM)

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    Full Truck Alliance Co., Ltd. (NYSE:YMM) is one of the best high growth NYSE stocks that are profitable. On August 25, Morgan Stanley analyst Eddy Wang maintained a Buy rating on Full Truck Alliance Co., Ltd. (NYSE:YMM), setting a price target of $14.00.

    Why Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (YMM) Soared On Wednesday

    The analyst told investors in a research note that Full Truck Alliance Co., Ltd. (NYSE:YMM) expects a stable take rate in H2 2025, supported by a favorable order structure and a rise in prices.

    Wang added that Full Truck Alliance Co., Ltd. (NYSE:YMM) anticipates a notable compound annual growth rate in transaction services revenue in the coming two to three years, supported by potential growth in commission rates and solid order volume growth.

    Full Truck Alliance Co., Ltd. (NYSE:YMM) is involved in comprehensive services for truckers and shippers through its website and mobile platforms.

    The company provides a number of freight matching services, including freight brokerage, online transaction services, and freight listing, with its platform connecting truckers and shippers to facilitate shipments across distance ranges, cargo weights, and types.

    While we acknowledge the potential of YMM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

    READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

    Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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  • Morgan Stanley Predicts Up to 670% Jump for These 2 ‘Strong Buy’ Stocks

    Morgan Stanley Predicts Up to 670% Jump for These 2 ‘Strong Buy’ Stocks

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    We’re now just days away from the ’24 elections, and what a race it’s been. Polls have been all over the place, and both parties can make legitimate claims to holding the advantage as we approach Tuesday’s vote.

    Amidst the political drama, the stock market has remained robust, with the S&P 500 surging 20% year-to-date. Historically, the index tends to perform well in election years, but this year has been exceptional, making it the most bullish election-year market in decades. A mix of macroeconomic factors, especially expectations of further Fed rate cuts, has fueled strong investor confidence.

    Morgan Stanley’s analysts are embracing this momentum, picking out stocks they believe are primed for gains regardless of the election outcome. They’ve zeroed in on two specific stocks poised for substantial growth in the coming year – including one with a potential upside as high as 670%.

    As if that weren’t compelling enough, according to the TipRanks database, both stocks are also rated as Strong Buys by the analyst consensus. Let’s see what’s driving this optimism among market experts.

    Tenaya Therapeutics (TNYA)

    We’ll start with Tenaya Therapeutics, a research-oriented biopharmaceutical company that is focused on developing and producing new therapeutic drugs for the treatment of heart disease. Tenaya is targeting its approach on the underlying causes of heart disease, including rare genetic disorders. The company’s approach includes gene therapies, cellular regeneration, and precision medicines.

    Heart disease is the world’s leading cause of death among adults, making its treatment an important niche. Tenaya currently has two primary drug candidates under investigation, TN-201 and TN-401, for the treatment of MYBPC3-associated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and PKP2-associated arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, respectively.

    The leading candidate, TN-201, is currently undergoing a Phase 1b human clinical trial. The study is focused on safety and tolerability and will enroll up to 24 adults. Data from the first patient cohort in the study are expected to be released in December, presenting a significant milestone for the stock. Meanwhile, enrollment is ongoing for the second cohort.

    The second candidate, TN-401, entered its Phase 1 RIDGE-1 trial earlier this year. This global, open-label, dose-escalation study, which will continue patient dosing through Q4 2024, aims to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of a single intravenous dose of TN-401.

    Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Ulz views TNYA as a compelling investment, with TN-201 as the primary value driver. Ulz notes, “Interim Ph1b MyPEAK-1 data for TN-201 in nHCM are expected in [December] and represent a key catalyst for Tenaya’s lead program. We see a favorable risk/reward on initial data, which could provide early de-risking, followed by more robust data in 2025.”

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  • Morgan Stanley announces CEO Ted Pick will become Chairman

    Morgan Stanley announces CEO Ted Pick will become Chairman

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    Closing Bell: Overtime

    CNBC’s Leslie Picker joins ‘Closing Bell Overtime’ to talk changes in the C-suite for Morgan Stanley.

    00:34

    Thu, Oct 24 20244:59 PM EDT

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  • AI on the trading floor: Morgan Stanley expands OpenAI-powered chatbot tools to Wall Street division

    AI on the trading floor: Morgan Stanley expands OpenAI-powered chatbot tools to Wall Street division

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    Morgan Stanley is expanding the use of OpenAI-powered, generative artificial intelligence tools to its vaunted investment banking and trading division, CNBC has learned.

    The firm, which launched an AI assistant based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology to its wealth management advisors in early 2023, began rolling out another version called AskResearchGPT this summer in its institutional securities group, said Katy Huberty, Morgan Stanley’s global director of research.

    The tool lets users extract answers from across the universe of Morgan Stanley’s research — including on stocks, commodities, industry trends and regions — collapsing what could otherwise be the cumbersome task of gleaning insights from the more than 70,000 reports produced annually by the bank.

    “We see it as a game changer from a productivity standpoint, both for our research analysts and our colleagues across institutional securities,” Huberty said in an interview. The tool helps staff “access the highest quality, most insightful information as efficiently as possible.”

    Since its arrival as a viral consumer app in late 2022, OpenAI’s generative AI technology has been swiftly adopted by Wall Street’s largest players.

    Morgan Stanley says that close to half of its 80,000 employees are using generative AI tools created with OpenAI, while at rival JPMorgan Chase, about 60% of the firm’s 316,043 employees have access to a platform using OpenAI’s models, said a person with knowledge of the matter who wasn’t authorized to disclose the figure publicly. The San Francisco-based startup recently raised money at a $157 billion valuation.

    OpenAI already has network advantages in financial services because of its ample funding and early focus on use cases for banks, said Pierre Buhler, a banking consultant with SSA & Co.

    “They are ahead of everyone else in terms of market penetration,” Buhler said.”But it is an emerging market, and we are still at the very beginning.” It’s likely that competitors to OpenAI such as Anthropic will gain use over time, he added.

    Viral hit

    At Morgan Stanley, a leader in global investment banking and trading along with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, employees have gravitated toward AskResearchGPT, using it instead of getting on the phone or lobbing an email to the research department, Huberty said.

    Employees are asking the tool three times the number of questions as compared with a previous tool based on traditional AI that’s been in use since 2017, according to the bank.

    It’s most in-demand among salespeople and other client-facing staff who often field questions from hedge funds or other institutional investors, said Huberty.

    “We found that it takes a salesperson one-tenth of the time to respond to the average client inquiry” using AskResearchGPT, she said.

    Productivity boost

    In a recent demonstration, the GPT-4 based chatbot was able to summarize Morgan Stanley’s position on matters from copper to Nvidia to the finer points of standing up a data center, understanding industry-specific jargon and providing charts and links to source material.

    The bank wants to push adoption further in light of the productivity gains it’s seeing, Huberty said. The tool is embedded within workers’ browsers as well as Microsoft Teams and Outlook programs to make it readily available.

    Understandably, Huberty says she is often asked if AI could ultimately replace the analysts who are creating the reams of research published under Morgan Stanley’s banner.

    “I don’t see in the near future a path to just having the machine write the research report to generate the idea,” she said. “I really think that it’s humans who make the call and own the relationship, which is a really important part of the analyst job, or sales and trading job, or corporate banker job.”

    Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

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  • CNBC Daily Open: Strong earnings, macro conditions propelling stocks up

    CNBC Daily Open: Strong earnings, macro conditions propelling stocks up

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    The Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023.

    Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    What you need to know today

    Markets rise on upbeat earnings
    U.S. stocks     resumed their advance Wednesday, as Morgan Stanley and United Airlines earnings topped estimates. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday. The CSI 300 real estate index fell nearly 7% even as Beijing announced new measures to support the industry.

    Follow Decision Time for the ECB live
    Market watchers are expecting the European Central Bank to cut rates by 25 basis points at its meeting later today. If that projection pans out, it’d be the third time the ECB’s cutting rates this year. Catch today’s action on Decision Time, CNBC’s live show analyzing the decision, starting 1 p.m. BST.

    New support measures for real estate
    China’s housing ministry said Thursday it’ll broaden its “whitelist” initiative to all commercial housing projects, which aims to complete the construction of unfinished homes. The ministry also announced that bank loans to developers will be speeded up and nearly double to 4 million trillion yuan by the end of 2024, from the 2.23 trillion yuan already approved.

    Potential probe of Intel
    Intel is potentially facing a security review by the Cybersecurity Association of China. Officials allege that Intel’s CPU chips possess vulnerabilities in security management and flaws in product quality. CSAC also accused Intel of using remote management features to surveil users.

    [PRO] A shining sector that’s not tech nor utilities
    Big Tech stocks, fueled by excitement over generative artificial intelligence, have been responsible for most of this year’s rally in the market. Gen AI is powered by energy-hungry data centers, which benefits the utilities sector. But there’s a new group of stocks that’s fast becoming one of the best-performing sectors for the year.

    The bottom line

    The pullback in stocks on Wednesday was brief, like a marathoner pausing to drink before pounding the road again.

    “Yesterday’s weakness does not change the intermediate and long-term uptrends, and we believe it will prove to be just a pullback within the context of a longer-term uptrend,” Piper Sandler said in a note.

    After dipping from its 43,000 level on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.79% Wednesday to break that barrier again, closing at 43,077.70.

    The S&P 500 climbed 0.47% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.28%.

    Markets are basking in the glow of a positive earnings season so far. Around 80% of the 50 S&P companies that have posted earnings have topped expectations, according to FactSet data.

    Morgan Stanley, for one, reported third-quarter figures that surpassed earnings and revenue estimates. The bank’s profit jumped 32% from a year ago, far outstripping the LSEG estimate and topping several other big banks’ income growth.

    The investment banking business was a main source of profit for Morgan Stanley. Supported by the U.S. Federal Reserve beginning its rate-cutting cycle, initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions are emerging from hibernation, injecting fresh life into Wall Street banks.

    Morgan Stanley popped 6.5% after results. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF has jumped more than 6% over the past five trading days. In another sign of the rally broadening, the banking ETF has outstripped the S&P 500’s climb of less than 1% during the same period.

    “We anticipate the macroeconomic and earnings environments to remain favorable,” UBS says, “which supports staying invested in equities.”

    With monetary policy easing, the economy staying strong and inflation cooling — import prices dipped 0.4% for September, according to the U.S. Labor Department — stocks look like they have stamina to keep going higher.

    – CNBC’s Hugh Son, Alex Harring, Jeff Cox, Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this story.    

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  • CNBC Daily Open: Strong earnings, macro conditions driving stocks higher

    CNBC Daily Open: Strong earnings, macro conditions driving stocks higher

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    The Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York, US, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. 

    Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    What you need to know today

    The bottom line

    The pullback in stocks on Wednesday was brief, like a marathoner pausing to drink before pounding the road again.

    “Yesterday’s weakness does not change the intermediate and long-term uptrends, and we believe it will prove to be just a pullback within the context of a longer-term uptrend,” Piper Sandler said in a note.

    After dipping from its 43,000 level on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.79% Wednesday to break that barrier again, closing at 43,077.70.

    The S&P 500 climbed 0.47% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.28%.

    Markets are basking in the glow of a positive earnings season so far. Around 80% of the 50 S&P companies that have posted earnings have topped expectations, according to FactSet data.

    Morgan Stanley, for one, reported third-quarter figures that surpassed earnings and revenue estimates. The bank’s profit jumped 32% from a year ago, far outstripping the LSEG estimate and topping several other big banks’ income growth.

    The investment banking business was a main source of profit for Morgan Stanley. Supported by the U.S. Federal Reserve beginning its rate-cutting cycle, initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions are emerging from hibernation, injecting fresh life into Wall Street banks.

    Morgan Stanley popped 6.5% after results. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF has jumped more than 6% over the past five trading days. In another sign of the rally broadening, the banking ETF has outstripped the S&P 500’s climb of less than 1% during the same period.

    “We anticipate the macroeconomic and earnings environments to remain favorable,” UBS says, “which supports staying invested in equities.”

    With monetary policy easing, the economy staying strong and inflation cooling — import prices dipped 0.4% for September, according to the U.S. Labor Department — stocks look like they have stamina to keep going higher.

    – CNBC’s Hugh Son, Alex Harring, Jeff Cox, Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed to this story.    

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  • Morgan Stanley gen AI exec Picariello to be fireside speaker at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2025

    Morgan Stanley gen AI exec Picariello to be fireside speaker at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2025

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    Bank Automation News is pleased to announce Koren Picariello, an executive director at Morgan Stanley and head of generative AI strategy and execution for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, will be featured in a fireside chat at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2025 on Monday, March 3, at 10 a.m. CT. 

    The summit takes place March 3-4 at the Hilton Nashville Downtown in Nashville, Tenn., and brings together industry experts to discuss how financial institutions are benefiting from investments made in AI technology, teams and resources. 

    Koren Picariello

    View the full agenda here.

    During the one-on-one chat, Picariello will discuss: 

    • Morgan Stanley’s approach to generative AI; 
    • Technology and automation trends; and 
    • How to determine the return on AI investment.  

    Throughout 2024, Morgan Stanley has tapped AI to improve efficiency and deepen the relationship between advisers and customers, Jeff McMillan, head of firmwide AI, previously told BAN. 

    The firm has launched the following AI-driven tools: 

    • Morgan Stanley Debrief, which takes notes on an adviser’s behalf; and 
    • Morgan Stanley Assistant, which helps advisers conduct research within Morgan Stanley’s database. 

    Along with discussions around generative AI, the summit will explore how to identify efficiency initiatives and what’s new in digital assistants. It will also feature the Demo Challenge, during which startups will give live technology demonstrations of their cutting-edge tech. 

    Learn more and register here for Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2025. 

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  • We’re raising our Morgan Stanley price target after a post-earnings stock surge to record highs

    We’re raising our Morgan Stanley price target after a post-earnings stock surge to record highs

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    Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Morgan Stanley shares soared to all-time highs Wednesday after third-quarter beats on the bank’s top and bottom lines, with strength seen across the board.

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  • Morgan Stanley CEO: Bullish on investment bank franchise that’s in the early chapters of growth

    Morgan Stanley CEO: Bullish on investment bank franchise that’s in the early chapters of growth

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    Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley CEO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the biggest holdup for the capital market recovery, if interest rates will get to a level that will reignite the IPO market, and much more.

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  • Morgan Stanley tops estimates on strong wealth management, trading and banking results

    Morgan Stanley tops estimates on strong wealth management, trading and banking results

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    CNBC's Leslie Picker joins 'Squawk Box' to report on the company's quarterly earnings results.

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  • Morgan Stanley shares pop 7% after beating estimates for third-quarter profit and revenue

    Morgan Stanley shares pop 7% after beating estimates for third-quarter profit and revenue

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    Morgan Stanley on Wednesday topped analysts’ estimates for third-quarter profit as each of its three main divisions generated more revenue than expected.

    Here’s what the company reported:

    • Earnings:$1.88 a share vs $1.58 LSEG estimate
    • Revenue: $15.38 billion vs. $14.41 billion estimate

    The bank said profit rose 32% to $3.2 billion, or $1.88 per share, and revenue jumped 16% to $15.38 billion.

    Morgan Stanley had several tail winds in its favor, starting with buoyant markets that helped its massive wealth management business, a rebound in investment banking after a dismal 2023, and strong trading activity. The Federal Reserve began taking down rates in the quarter, which should encourage more of the financing and merger activity that Wall Street firms capitalize on.

    “The firm reported a strong third quarter in a constructive environment across our global footprint,” Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said in the release.

    Shares of the bank rose 7.5% in early trading.

    The bank’s wealth management division saw revenue jump 14% from a year earlier to $7.27 billion, exceeding the StreetAccount estimate by nearly $400 million.

    Equity trading revenue rose 21% to $3.05 billion, compared with the $2.77 billion estimate, while fixed income revenue edged 3% higher to $2 billion, also higher than the $1.85 billion estimate.

    Investment banking revenue surged 56% from a year earlier to $1.46 billion, exceeding the $1.36 billion estimate.

    Investment management, the firm’s smallest division, also exceeded expectations, posting a 9% increase in revenue to $1.46 billion, modestly higher than the $1.42 billion estimate.

    Morgan Stanley’s Wall Street rivals also posted better-than-expected Wall Street revenue. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup topped estimates on strong revenue from trading and investment banking.

    This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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  • These 5 portfolio stocks outperformed the market’s incredible run since our September Monthly Meeting

    These 5 portfolio stocks outperformed the market’s incredible run since our September Monthly Meeting

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    Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

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    It’s been a stellar month for the U.S. stock market, driven largely by easing monetary policy.

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  • Goldman Sachs to report third-quarter earnings

    Goldman Sachs to report third-quarter earnings

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    David Solomon, Chairman & CEO Goldman Sachs, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17th, 2024.

    Adam Galici | CNBC

    Goldman Sachs is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings before the opening bell Tuesday.

    Here’s what Wall Street expects:

    • Earnings: $6.89 per share, according to LSEG
    • Revenue: $11.8 billion, according to LSEG
    • Trading Revenue: Fixed Income of $2.91 billion, Equities of $2.96 billion, per StreetAccount
    • Investing Banking Revenue: $1.62 billion, per StreetAccount
    • Asset & Wealth Management: $3.58 billion, per StreetAccount

    How much will falling interest rates help Goldman Sachs?

    Over the past two years, the Federal Reserve’s tightening campaign has made for a less-than-ideal environment for investment banks like Goldman.

    Now that the Fed is easing rates, that positions Goldman to benefit as corporations that have waited on the sidelines to acquire competitors or raise funds begin to take action.

    Goldman’s asset and wealth management division is also positioned to benefit from rising asset values across markets as rates decline.

    Last week, rival JPMorgan Chase set expectations high with better-than-anticipated results from trading and investment banking, factors that helped the bank top earnings estimates.

    Wells Fargo also exceeded estimates on Friday on the back of its investment banking division.

    This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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  • Analysts cheer Wells Fargo to 2018 highs after earnings. We have 1 qualm with the praise

    Analysts cheer Wells Fargo to 2018 highs after earnings. We have 1 qualm with the praise

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    Wells Fargo bank signage is seen on Broadway on April 12, 2024 in New York City.

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    Wells Fargo stock hit new multi-year highs on Monday after Wall Street analysts praised the bank’s third-quarter earnings report.

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  • CNBC Daily Open: With an unchanged PPI, the Fed’s near the finish line

    CNBC Daily Open: With an unchanged PPI, the Fed’s near the finish line

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    A television station broadcasts the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.

    Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    What you need to know today

    Winning week for markets
    All     major U.S. indexes rose Friday on the back of encouraging inflation data and positive earnings from big banks. That gave them a winning week. Asia-Pacific markets mostly traded higher Monday. China’s Shanghai Composite rose around 2% in choppy trading. Over the weekend, Beijing reported a lower-than-expected consumer inflation rate and producer prices falling for September.

    Tesla’s Cybercab and Robovan
    Tesla shares slumped 8.8% after the company’s “We, Robot” event disappointed investors. At the Thursday night event, CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Cybercab, a two-seater with no steering wheels or pedals, and the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle that has a big capacity. But Musk offered little other details, causing analysts to cast doubt on the company.

    More assurances from China
    In a press briefing held Saturday, Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Fo’an told reporters the space for Beijing to increase its budget deficit is “rather large,” but the government is still discussing stimulus plans, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese. Lan also announced measures to support employment and the real estate industry.

    Banks’ earnings in good shape
    JPMorgan Chase, the biggest bank in the U.S., reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates. Net interest income grew 3% from a year ago and helped revenue to increase 6%. Wells Fargo had a decent third quarter. The bank beat estimates for earnings, but unlike JPMorgan, revenue was below expectations and NII decreased.

    [PRO] Earnings will show market direction
    After the deluge of data such as September’s jobs reports and consumer price index report, earnings will determine the path of markets for the near term. Big banks dominate third-quarter reports this week. It’s Bank of America and Goldman Sachs’ turn on Tuesday, while Morgan Stanley announces its earnings on Wednesday.

    The bottom line

    It seems like September’s hotter-than-expected inflation reading was indeed a blip.

    With a snap of its fingers, the producer price index assuaged worries over inflation remaining stubborn. The index, which measures wholesale prices – and thus generally prefigures changes in the CPI – was unchanged in September from August, defying expectations from a Dow Jones survey of a 0.1% increase.

    In fact, last week’s inflation figures looked so promising that Goldman Sachs think the Federal Reserve has just about brought inflation down to its 2% target without crashing the economy, as CNBC’s Jeff Cox reports.

    While consumer sentiment dipped slightly in October, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers, “long run business conditions lifted to its highest reading in six months,” wrote Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director.

    JPMorgan Chase’s third-quarter earnings may be the first taste of that. The biggest bank in America beat estimates on both revenue and earnings. As banks generally reflect the health of the broader economy, it’s a signal things aren’t all bad despite dipping consumer confidence.

    Admittedly, earnings reflect what has already happened. Investors care more about what’s going to happen. But consumers are “fine and on strong footing,” as JPMorgan’s CFO Jeremy Barnum told reporters.

    Markets cheered the string of positive news.

    On Friday, the S&P 500 added 0.61%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.97% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.33%.

    That capped off a winning week for Wall Street – their fifth in a row. The S&P and Nasdaq climbed 1.1%, while the Dow did a bit better with its 1.2% increase for the week.

    “What we’re seeing … is a broadening of the market,” said Craig Sterling, head of U.S. equity research at Amundi US.

    It’s a reminder that subduing inflation is just a stop toward investors’ real endgame of a healthy stock market.

    – CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Samantha Subin and Brian Evans contributed to this story.   

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