Pre-markets Strengthen on Solid Q3 Bank Earnings

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Pre-market futures are off early-morning highs but still ascending, with the Dow +240 points, the S&P 500 +47, the Nasdaq +230 and the small-cap Russell 2000 — which led all major indexes yesterday — up another +25 points, or +1%. Bond yields are down -12 basis points (bps) week over week to +4.20% on the 10-year, +3.49% on the 2-year.

The latest drama over a trade deal with China has been overrun by a bevy of positive earnings reports this morning. There’s always room, of course, for tempers to flare up and give investors a reason to retreat, but for now we’re headed back to all-time highs — aside from the Russell 2000, which is already there. We also see another better-than-expected manufacturing report out of New York State. 
 

Empire State Swings to Positive in October

Ahead of today’s open, the latest Empire State Manufacturing Index swung to a positive +10.7 in October, nicely up from the -0.5 analysts were expecting and the weak -8.7 reported for September. This marks the third up-month in the past four — compare that with the previous four months, all of which were negative.

Activity rebounded for both New Orders (+3.7) and Shipments (+14.4). New York manufacturers are more positive of general business conditions looking forward. About the only concern is slimming inventory levels: Supply Availability fell to -10.7 on worsening supply dynamics. 
 

Q3 Earnings Reports Ahead of the Bell: BAC, MS & More

Bank of America BAC continues the Q3 earnings reporting for the biggest banks on Wall Street. The Charlotte-based BofA saw earnings of $1.06 per share above the 94 cents in the Zacks consensus, for a positive earnings surprise of +12.77%. Revenues of $29.08 billion also surprised to the upside, by roughly +3%. For more on BAC’s earnings, click here.

Investment giant Morgan Stanley MS also outperformed expectations, with earnings of $2.80 per share versus $2.08 anticipated, for a +34.6% positive surprise. Revenues of $18.22 billion amounted to a +10.8% surprise for the quarter. Shares are up +4% in the pre-market, adding to its +23.6% earned year to date. For more on MS’ earnings, click here.

Abbott Labs ABT met estimates on its bottom line Q3 this morning, to earnings of $1.30 per share (up 9 cents per share from the prior-year quarter). Its $11.37 billion in quarterly sales was a smidge below estimates: -0.24% (up from $10.64 billion reported a year ago). Shares are slipping -4.5% in early trading, but still up double-digits at this point, year to date. For more on ABT’s earnings, click here.
 

What to Expect from the Stock Market Today

Despite many economic reports kept shuttered during the ongoing government shutdown, we do expect the release of the latest Beige Book at 2pm ET today. This summary of domestic economic conditions comes out eight times per year — the previous being from early September and the last for 2025 occurring the week of Thanksgiving. The prior report posted moderate growth in most regions.

As far as earnings, United Airlines UAL reports Q3 earnings after today’s closing bell. Expectations are pretty vast, from -20.7% earnings per share negative growth year over year on +3.1% positive growth on revenues. The major airline has posted earnings beats in each of the last four quarters, for a trailing average of +9.3%.

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