News Summary

Shares of Morgan Stanley MS gained about 1% after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. MS reported its Q4 earnings at $0.43 per share. The company's revenue increased 14% y/y to $7.8 billion. However, analysts had expected earnings of $0.35 per share on revenue of $7.35 billion. “Despite this year's challenging markets, we delivered strong results in investment banking enhancing our leadership positions in M&A, global equity and IPOs based on the strength of our banking, capital markets and equities teams,” Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman said. Crude oil futures moved down, after US jobless claims dropped higher-than-expected. Jobless claims dropped by 37,000 to 404,000 in the recent week. Crude oil for February delivery moved down $0.75 at $90.11 per barrel. Shares of Marshall & Ilsley Corp MI fell about 0.7% after the bank reported its Q4 loss at $0.25 per share, compared with $0.54 per share, in the year-ago quarter. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.23 per share. On December 16, MI agreed to be purchased by Bank of Montreal BMO for $4.1 billion. The deal is likely to close by July 31. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.