Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Earnings Prop Up Wall Street

Core Insights - Bank stocks are driving positive momentum on Wall Street, particularly Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, following strong earnings reports [1] Morgan Stanley (MS) - MS shares increased by 6% to $164.92 after reporting adjusted Q3 earnings of $2.80 per share on revenue of $18.22 billion, both surpassing estimates, marking the largest earnings beat in five years [2] - The stock reached a record high of $166.77 and is up 32.2% year-to-date [2] - Options trading for MS is notably active, with 52,000 calls traded, 12 times the average intraday volume, and more than triple the number of puts [3] Bank of America (BAC) - BAC shares rose by 5.4% to $52.69, close to its all-time high of $52.88, after reporting adjusted Q3 earnings of $1.07 per share on revenue of $28.24 billion, driven by strong investment results [4] - The stock is now 20.2% higher year-to-date [4] - BAC has seen 244,000 calls traded today, seven times the average intraday volume, with significant activity in the October 52- and 54-strike calls [5] Options Market Activity - Options for both MS and BAC are expected to be popular due to post-earnings volatility, with their respective Schaeffer's Volatility Indexes ranking in the 16th and 15th percentiles of their annual range [6] - Both stocks have a history of exceeding traders' volatility expectations, as indicated by Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecards [6]