Investing.com - Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reported weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell, sending its shares lower in pre-market trade.
Morgan Stanley said adjusted earnings per share came in at 40 cents in the three months ended December, below expectations for earnings of 50 cents per share.
For the current quarter, income from continuing operations was 47 cents per diluted share.
The bank’s fourth quarter adjusted revenue totaled $7.54 billion, missing expectations for revenue of $8.08 billion.
James P. Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We finished 2014 in substantially better shape than we entered the year. We delivered strong results across several of our businesses, although overall performance was affected by the choppy market conditions of the fourth quarter."
Immediately after the earnings announcement, Morgan Stanley shares declined 3% in trading prior to the opening bell.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was upbeat. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.4% at the open, the S&P 500 indicated a rise of 0.45%, while the Nasdaq 100 signaled an increase of 0.6%.