Goldman shares ease on quarterly loss

Goldman Sachs shares appeared set for a lower open in New York trading on Wednesday after the group reported its first quarterly loss since 2011.

The stock was 0.8% lower in pre-market trading as of 1332 GMT.

Goldman unveiled a $4.4bn charge to fourth-quarter earnings related to US tax reform, but more worryingly for investors, also reported a major slump in revenues from bond trading.

The US-listed giant reported a 50% drop in net revenues from fixed income trading.

Overall beat

Nevertheless, overall earnings and revenues generally exceeded analysts´ forecasts.

Quarterly revenue rose to $7.83bn, beating analysts´ projections of $7.63bn.

Earnings per share jumped 12% from the same period of 2016, to $5.68, comparing favourably with expectations of $4.90.

Long-term rewards

Goldman reiterated its 2017 year-end message, pointing out that the US tax changes would reap long-term rewards as its effective rate of corporate tax declines.

The changes, signed into law by President Trump in December of last year, cut the top rate of US corporate tax from 35% to 21%.

“Last year, we delivered higher revenue and stronger pre-tax margins despite a challenging environment for our market-making businesses. With the global economy poised to accelerate, new US tax legislation providing tailwinds and a leading franchise across our businesses, we are well positioned to serve our clients and make significant progress on the growth plan we outlined in September,” said chief executive Lloyd C. Blankfein.