NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 17:09 ET — Market closed
- Morgan Stanley shares last closed down 0.9% at $177.53 on Dec. 31 as U.S. markets paused for the New Year’s holiday.
- The stock drifted with other big banks as year-end trading thinned and major U.S. indexes finished the year-end session lower.
- Focus turns to Morgan Stanley’s Jan. 15 results and early-January U.S. data that can move bond yields and bank shares.
Morgan Stanley stock (NYSE: MS) ended the last trading day of 2025 lower, closing down 0.9% at $177.53 on Wednesday. U.S. markets are closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day, according to the New York Stock Exchange calendar.
The pullback matters because bank and brokerage shares often move with interest-rate expectations, and the first stretch of January typically resets positioning after year-end. With trading desks lightly staffed around the holiday, even modest flows can push prices.
For Morgan Stanley, the next big checkpoint is close: the investment bank and wealth manager is due to report quarterly results in two weeks. Investors will be watching whether momentum from 2025 carries into the new year as economic data and Federal Reserve expectations come back into focus.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.74%, capping a holiday-shortened stretch where the index slid for four straight sessions, a Reuters market wrap showed. Big banks also eased, with Goldman Sachs down about 0.6%, JPMorgan down about 0.3% and Bank of America down about 0.5%.
“It’s perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost,” Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity, told Reuters in comments on year-end trading. Reuters
Even after Wednesday’s dip, Morgan Stanley shares remain near record territory. The stock is about 2.6% below its 52-week high of $182.34 and up more than 40% over the past year, according to data compiled by Finviz.
Morgan Stanley has scheduled its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results for Thursday, Jan. 15, at about 7:30 a.m. ET, with a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET, the company said. Traders typically key on investment-banking fees — revenue from advising on deals and underwriting stock and bond issues — and on wealth-management trends such as client asset inflows.
Macro remains the other driver. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27–28, and shifts in Treasury yields can quickly change the tone for banks by altering the outlook for lending and trading conditions.
Before Friday’s session, investors will watch whether the sector rebounds after the year-end slide or whether profit-taking carries into the first trading days of 2026. Markets reopen on Jan. 2 after the New Year’s Day holiday closure.
A busy U.S. data calendar also looms. The Labor Department’s employment report for December 2025 is scheduled for Jan. 9, while the December 2025 consumer price index report is scheduled for Jan. 13, the agency’s release calendar shows.
On the chart, traders will eye whether MS can reclaim the $180 area — near the upper end of its recent range — or slips further from its 52-week peak. The stock is still trading well above longer-term trend markers, sitting roughly 4.8% above its 50-day moving average and about 22.7% above its 200-day moving average, according to Finviz.
With the market shut on Thursday, the next read on Morgan Stanley stock will come Friday as January positioning begins in earnest. Earnings on Jan. 15 and the first wave of labor and inflation data are likely to set the tone for the next move.
