That is a sign of the scars some banks carry more than a decade after the credit crisis; Morgan Stanley’s shares remain 20% below their high from May 2007. But the pain runs even deeper. Morgan Stanley’s stock is still down 37% from its peak in 2000. Compare that with rival JPMorgan Chase JPM 0.39% & Co., which also reported solid earnings earlier this week and whose shares more than doubled where they were in 2007. Created with Highstock 6.1.1Uneven OutcomesBanks' different responses to the...

China closed its markets starting Jan. 24 for the Lunar New Year holiday, just as the number of its citizens infected with the pneumonia-causing virus was starting to mount. As of Friday, the virus had sickened more than 9,500 people world-wide and killed more than 210. Even though trading of mainland-listed stocks isn’t expected to resume until Feb. 3, billions of dollars in exchange-traded funds made up of Chinese A-shares have been trading this week, and they have fallen sharply while...

Options traders are forecasting increased volatility around key dates tied to the election, including Monday’s Iowa caucuses. They are picking up stock hedges that would pay out if turbulence continues to jump in coming months. Those bets coincide with a pause in the stock market’s record run. Worries about the coronavirus, which so far has infected more than 12,000 people around the world, have driven the S&P 500 down 3.1% from its Jan. 17 record and into the red for 2020. Some investors...

Investors had feared trade tensions and slowing growth elsewhere in the world would eventually hurt U.S. companies, but the latest data suggest businesses remain comfortable buying big-ticket items, Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients. That has helped the sector, which includes everything from aerospace manufacturers to trading companies, continue its strong performance. Industrial stocks are up 19% this year, putting it among the S&P 500’s...

Strategies include a short on the Australian dollar and other currencies as well as bearish put options on the iShares China Large-Cap exchange-traded fund. Money managers including Russell Investments have pared their exposure to U.S. stocks, favoring more-attractively-valued shares of emerging-market companies. How those moves pan out largely depends on what happens in Osaka, Japan, this weekend, when Messrs. Trump and Xi meet Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit. There is no...