(Bloomberg) – The largest stock traders in Wall Street have just delivered their best fifteen minutes ever. And that was before President Donald Trump’s trade war made the stock and bond markets even more wilder.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was the newest company that reported the highest quarter ever for stock trade, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. And Morgan Stanley reached similar milestones last week in the midst of the volatility that was activated when Trump took office with a series of naughty policy. The best managers of the banks see it going on, at least for the time being, because the markets are kept informed of the extent and impact of the rate attack that the president announced earlier this month.
“The first quarter flows to the second quarter,” said Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick after his bank had announced income. “There is a lot of client interaction and the animal spirits are still there as far as people try not to be caught.”
While the markets on Trump’s plan to impose the steepest American rates in more than a century and then his fast Om-Face, JPMorgan noted some of the highest volume of trade days ever in the first weeks of April, according to a person who is familiar with the business. At Bank of America Corp. The trading activity also rose in that period, clocked at 50% higher than the previous year at certain points, another person said and asked for not being identified about private information.
The intense market fluctuations create the opportunity to make a profit, but traders also run the risks of higher losses. In the market party, periods in which investors benefit from volatility are called ‘good volatility’, while it is considered ‘bad’ if they exclude it, possibly paralyzing liquidity. The enormous volatility has stretched stock markets and yielded the proceeds on American treasury bonds, activating debate about their safe port status and whether the Federal Reserve can intervene to stop the losses.
“Are there still forms of volatility that can be bad for the franchise of the markets? The answer to that question is absolutely yes,” said JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum last week. “People enjoy the kind of good volatility, poor volatility story, but we like it or not, it’s real.”
His bank increased the turnover of stock markets by 48% to $ 3.81 billion in the first three months of the year, as a result of which the expectations of past analysts were increased, as well as the earlier record of the business trade four years ago. Morgan Stanley’s stock traders earned a record of $ 4.13 billion in the period, an increase of 45% compared to a year ago. On Monday, Goldman said that stock sales rose to a record of $ 4.19 billion.
“Things were going on before 2 April those perspectives shifted that also led to more activity,” said Goldman’s CEO David Solomon on a win call. Although it is still early in the second quarter, the bank’s trading company performs well, he added.
“I know that there is a higher level of uncertainty, but at the same point customers are active, people change positions and we still see important activity levels,” Solomon said.
Some of the largest American market companies also see the advantage of increased volatility. Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial Inc., both experienced record days of trade volume in April, according to people who are familiar with the issue.
The industry has also been able to handle the volume levels without “some remarkable interruptions,” said Virtu’s CEO Doug Cifu in an E -mail statement.
“This performance is a reflection of the lessons that have been learned from previous market events and emphasizes how competition helps markets by innovating companies and investing in their systems,” he said.
The exchange locations where shares, options and futures also saw all trade records. CME Group Inc., the largest American derivatives platform, said that three of the top five volume days took place in the first two weeks of April. CBOE Global Markets Inc. said that eight out of 10 volumes records for options on SPX were already set in 2025.
The chaotic rollout of Trump’s rate policy will probably keep volatility increased. On Friday, the administration announced a series of exemptions for popular consumer electronics of the steep rates on China. By Sunday, Trump had traced the postponement as a procedural step.
The uncertainty can have a hair -raising effect elsewhere, with consequences that are difficult to predict. As JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon noted last week, lower volumes bond -Deals lead to lower trade “so it will have lower volumes in certain markets,” he said. “And how it is all by hand is almost impossible to say.”
-With the help of Keith Gerstein and Hannah Levitt.
More stories such as these are available on Bloomberg.com
