New York, February 9, 2026, 14:15 ET — Regular session
- Morgan Stanley shares climb roughly 2% in afternoon trading
- The bank has turned to veteran dealmaker Michael Grimes, naming him head of investment banking.
- IPO prospects and a fresh round of U.S. data this week still have traders weighing rate moves and deal activity.
Shares of Morgan Stanley climbed Monday, with the stock gaining $3.30 to trade at $183.26, up roughly 1.8% by mid-afternoon. Investors responded to the bank’s move to bring back Michael Grimes, a seasoned dealmaker, to head up investment banking. 1
This hire is key—the focus for major U.S. banks now turns to chasing bigger fee pools. Goldman Sachs analysts are betting that U.S. IPO proceeds could hit $160 billion in 2026, four times what they are now, if dealmaking picks up. Still, they warn that volatility and valuation risks could easily disrupt that forecast. 2
Stocks calmed down a bit after software names took a hit thanks to last week’s AI selloff, and with the Fed looming, traders are back on edge. “It’s an eye-popping number, $650 billion,” Anna Rathbun, founder and CEO of Grenadilla Advisory, said of Big Tech’s AI spending plans. On the near-term radar: January’s delayed nonfarm payrolls lands Wednesday, January CPI is out Friday, and Nvidia delivers results later this month. 3
According to the memo, Grimes, who just wrapped up a stint as senior adviser at the U.S. Commerce Department, spent over 30 years at Morgan Stanley. “Michael will continue to manage and build relationships with many of our most important global corporate, venture, private equity and sovereign clients,” the note said. He’s set up shop in Menlo Park, California. Grimes brings a history of high-profile IPOs—Meta, Uber—and has teamed with Elon Musk on both Tesla’s market debut and that $44 billion Twitter deal. Reuters previously named Morgan Stanley as a frontrunner for a possible SpaceX role. 4
Morgan Stanley’s move speaks for itself: they’re bringing in a familiar tech dealmaker just as companies edge back toward public offerings. Investment banking fees swing with the deal calendar — that’s just how it goes — and the market hasn’t hesitated to factor those ups and downs straight into the stock.
In recent years, the bank has pushed further into its wealth business to help steady its results. Still, MS shares usually move with two familiar drivers: how much risk investors are willing to take, and the volume of deal activity—just like its rivals.
The action Monday lined up with the broader trend. As beaten-down tech names rebounded and investors rotated through sectors, broker-dealers caught a lift—even absent any fresh earnings news. More trading from clients, plus a little extra risk appetite from corporate boards, did the trick.
The flip side is just as clear. Should markets lurch back into volatility, or if this week’s data jolts rate expectations, private firms might simply pause, leaving M&A to drift into another “wait and see” stretch. Advisory and underwriting fees would take the hit—precisely when Wall Street’s still spending on bankers and tech.
Investors are scanning for any hints that the IPO window is cracking open, and staying alert to fresh signs the economy may be slowing enough to bring rate cuts forward. They’re also eyeing risk assets to see if last week’s jolt turns into something bigger.
Up next for Morgan Stanley: wealth management chief Jed Finn has a spot at the UBS Financial Services Conference on Tuesday. He’s slated to speak February 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET, and the bank will share a webcast. 5
