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By Pritam Biswas, Saeed Azhar and Prakhar Srivastava (Reuters) -Bank of America beat Wall Street estimates for profit, benefiting from bumper third-quarter investment banking, and upgraded its outlook for net interest income, sending its shares up more than 4% in early trading. The second-largest U.S. bank sees fourth-quarter NII between $15.6 billion and $15.7 billion, up about 8% from a year earlier. The Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point cut in September, along with other economic factors, is expected to stoke demand from borrowers. "Unemployment still remains at a pretty low level, wage growth is pretty good overall, home prices remain in a good place, and obviously the stock market's in a good place," Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said on a call with journalists. He also said that these conditions probably accounted for the "performance in consumer and in commercial." The bank and its biggest rivals also gained from renewed confidence among corporations to carry out large mergers and acquisitions. Investment banking fees at BofA rose 43% to $2 billion from a year earlier, compared with executives' earlier forecast for a 10% to 15% increase. INTEREST INCOME BOOST Net interest income — or the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays out on deposits — rose 9% to $15.2 billion in the quarter from a year earlier. BofA had previously said it expects record net interest income in 2025. "Strong loan and deposit growth, coupled with effective balance sheet positioning, resulted in record net interest income," CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement. BofA's stock, up 14% so far in 2025 as of last close, has, however, underperformed all of its peers as well as the KBW Bank Index. "This was just a well-rounded beat," said David Wagner, head of equities and portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. "The stock's performance is catching up to some of the other larger cap peers from a year-to-date perspective… I view Brian Moynihan and BAC as the north star for recognizing consumer trends before other banks." The bank also lowered its provisions for credit losses in the third quarter to $1.3 billion from $1.5 billion a year earlier and $1.6 billion in the previous quarter, echoing a similar move by Wells Fargo on Tuesday. DEALMAKING REBOUNDS Globally, megadeals reached $1.26 trillion during the reported quarter, a 40% jump from the same period last year, marking the second-highest third-quarter total on record, according to Dealogic data. Overall global dealmaking topped $3 trillion in the first nine months of 2025, reaching the highest level since the pandemic peak in 2021, according to Mergermarket data. Peers JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup also beat estimates for third-quarter profit, helped by strength in their investment banking businesses. "With deal activity picking up and monetary policies coming into focus, banks are keeping on an even keel as they navigate through economic volatility," KPMG U.S. Banking Sector Leader Peter Torrente said, adding that continuous assessment of rate trajectory and consumer financial health" remains crucial as banks head into the final months of the year." Bank of America on Wednesday reported a net income of $8.5 billion, or $1.06 per share, in the three months ended September 30. That compares with $6.9 billion, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier. The Street was expecting a profit of 95 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. FIRST BRANDS Bank of America is among the group of lenders to bankrupt auto parts maker First Brands, but the loans are backed by strong collateral, Borthwick said on Wednesday. "We're in the syndicated loan for the First Brands deal," Borthwick told reporters in a call. "That is an asset-backed loan. So when we think about prudent risk management, we're thinking about the borrower, we're thinking about the collateral, and here, we're secured." (Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Shinjini Ganguli)

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(Reuters) -Warehouse-focused real estate investment trust Prologis beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and funds from operations on Wednesday, helped by robust demand for its storage facilities. The San Francisco, California-based company also raised its 2025 core FFO forecast to a range of $5.78 per share to $5.81 per share, from $5.75 per share to $5.80 per share. Logistics-focused warehouse operators have benefited from a rush by importers to front-load shipments ahead of U.S. tariffs, boosting demand for storage spaces and spurring leasing activity. The world's largest industrial property developer reported a company-record 62 million square feet of lease signings during the quarter. CEO Hamid Moghadam said the logistics market is nearing an inflection point for rent and occupancy growth, calling it "one of the most compelling setups I've seen in 40 years." Prologis reported a quarterly core FFO of $1.49 per share, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.44 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Total revenue for Prologis, which counts Amazon, Home Depot, FedEx and UPS as its biggest customers, was $2.21 billion, above analysts' estimates of $2.16 billion. The company, a developer and manager of warehouses, distribution facilities and fulfillment centers, owns and operates 1.3 billion square feet of logistics real estate across 20 countries. Shares of the company rose 2% in premarket trading following the results. (Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales excluding motor vehicles and parts likely posted further gains in September, data from the Chicago Federal Reserve showed on Wednesday, though part of the rise probably reflected higher prices. The Chicago Fed Advance Retail Trade Summary estimated that retail sales excluding autos and parts increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% last month after advancing 0.7% in August.  CARTS is meant to offer an early read for the official monthly retail sales data, excluding automobiles, produced by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The retail sales report, scheduled for release on Thursday, has been delayed by the government shutdown, now in its third week. When adjusted for inflation, retail sales excluding autos are projected to have risen only 0.2% last month after increasing 0.3% in August. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

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By Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit (Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on Wednesday after solid results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, while chipmakers climbed as ASML reported strong quarterly results. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley added 3.8% and 4.1%, respectively, premarket after the top lenders beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on dealmaking strength. Bank of America also raised the low end of its interest income forecast range. "We've seen really good results from the big banks that have reported thus far, some impressive beats there, so I would expect that we'd see positive sentiment and a good market reaction," said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a CNBC event that the wave of investment into the U.S. economy is sustainable and is only getting started. A day earlier, lenders including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase reported solid performance in investment banking and predicted that the business would continue to boom. Analysts expect third-quarter earnings growth to be 9.2% year-on-year, slightly higher than the previously forecast 8.8%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data from Tuesday. Shares of U.S. chipmakers rose after ASML reported third-quarter orders and operating income above market expectations. U.S.-listed shares of ASML were up 4.4%. Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices gained 2.6% each, while Intel and Nvidia added 1.7% and 2.6% respectively. At 8:43 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 235 points, or 0.51%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 49 points, or 0.73%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 242 points, or 0.98%. A slate of Fed officials including governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller, Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and Kansas City boss Jeffrey Schmid are set to speak later in the day. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell  left the door open to rate cuts on Tuesday by saying the U.S. labor market remained mired in low-hiring, low-firing doldrums. Fed's Beige Book of economic condition, due at 2:00 p.m. ET, is also on radar. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Washington was considering cutting some trade ties with China, including in relation to cooking oil. That came after the two countries began imposing tit-for-tat port fees, adding to concerns about the China-U.S. trade war. Among other stocks, Abbott declined 2.9% after its quarterly revenue fell short of analysts' expectations. BlackRock and a group backed by Nvidia will acquire Aligned Data Centers in a deal worth $40 billion, the companies said. Shares of BlackRock were up 1.1%. U.S.-listed shares of gold miners gained as bullion prices surged past $4,200 an ounce for the first time. Newmont rose 1.8%. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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By Karin Strohecker WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The fresh flare-up in trade tensions between the United States and China is a big risk to the outlook for Thailand's economic growth, the country's deputy central bank governor said, adding there was little room left to lower rates further. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday shattered a relative calm in the trade war between the world's top two economies by threatening 100% duties on Chinese goods – on top of rates averaging 55% – in retaliation for Beijing's dramatically expanded export controls on rare earths.  "Of course, that's a big downside risk," Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Piti Disyatat told Reuters on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund World Bank annual meeting in Washington.  "China and the U.S. are both major export and import trading partners, and whatever happens between them, it's not helpful for the rest – so we hope that it will not play out too aggressively." The central bank expects to see growth at 2.2% this year and 1.8% in 2026 – well below the potential growth rate of 2.7%.  Despite the sluggish growth, policy makers surprised markets last week by leaving the key interest rate steady rather than cutting, as the economy struggles with a strengthening baht, negative inflation and the fallout from U.S. tariffs. Piti said room for manoeuvre was limited on rates. "The level of policy rate at 1.5 is actually historically low," said Piti, adding lending rates had dipped below this level only three times – during the great financial crisis, and the COVID and the SARS epidemics.   "There's not much room left, and the things that are holding back the economy are no longer funding conditions." The central bank would instead rather focus on financial measures together with fiscal authorities, such as debt restructuring schemes for household and small and medium enterprises, such as loan guarantee schemes to get access to credit.  "That's where the constraints are and we are doing that, and maybe do more of that going forward," he said.  Recent data showing inflation being negative for a sixth straight month in September did not require a rethink of the central bank's inflation target of 1-3%, the deputy governor said.  "It's roughly okay," he said, adding declines were driven by lower energy and food prices, both mostly external and supply related, with inflation expectations holding broadly steady.     Asked how the political change in Thailand had shaped policy making, Piti said the bank had fared well.  "We have had four prime ministers and four finance ministers in five years," he said.  "It's been challenging because of the continuity, and you have to always get used to the new administration, but I think overall, we've kind of managed to make it through that period quite well." Asked about the strength of the baht currency, which has firmed around 5% against the dollar since the start of the year, Piti said he recognised it was tough on exporters.  "But from an economic fundamental perspective, it's not clearly too out of line."   (Reporting by Karin Strohecker, additional reporting by Orathai Sriring, editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

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Washington (Reuters) -The wave of investment into the U.S. economy is sustainable and is only getting started, but the federal government shutdown is increasingly an impediment, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday. "There is pent-up demand, but then President (Donald) Trump has unleashed this boom with his policies," Bessent said at a CNBC event held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. "The only thing slowing us down here is this government shutdown," Bessent said, adding that it is starting to cost the economy about $15 billion a day in lost output. (Reporting By David Lawder; writing by Dan Burns; editing by Paul Simao)

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(Reuters) -S&P Global has agreed to buy private markets data provider With Intelligence, the company said on Tuesday, as it looks to expand its products for the fast-growing segment of financial services. The deal is set to close in 2025, or early 2026, and is expected to be accretive to the company's adjusted profit per share in 2027, S&P Global said. Citi is acting as S&P Global's lead advisor, while Centerview Partners is the financial advisor for With. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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(Reuters) -Bank of America is among a consortium of lenders to bankrupt U.S. auto parts supplier First Brands, but the loans are backed by strong collateral, Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said on Wednesday. "We're in the syndicated loan for the First Brands deal," Borthwick told reporters on a call. "That is an asset-backed loan. So when we think about prudent risk management, we're thinking about the borrower, we're thinking about the collateral, and here, we're secured." The bankruptcies of First Brands and car dealership Tricolor have prompted soul searching on Wall Street, with JPMorgan Chase saying it re-examined its controls after finding itself exposed. Bank of America does not have exposure to Tricolor. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar in New York and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru)

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By Stephanie Kelly LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices steadied on Wednesday after closing at five-month lows in the previous session, as investors weighed the International Energy Agency's prediction of a supply surplus in 2026 and trade tensions between the U.S. and China that could curtail demand. Brent crude futures were up 3 cents, or 0.1%, at $62.42 a barrel by 1145 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $58.81 a barrel. The International Energy Agency said on Tuesday that the global oil market could face a surplus next year of up to 4 million barrels per day, more than it had previously forecast, as OPEC+ and other producers raise output and demand remains sluggish. "The market is focusing on excess supply amid mixed demand signals. Ebbing geopolitical risks and escalating trade tensions are also adding further pressure on prices," said Emril Jamil, a senior oil analyst at LSEG. The trade dispute between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest oil consumers, has reignited over the last week, with both countries imposing additional port fees on ships carrying cargo between them. That will raise trading costs and disrupt freight flows, likely lowering economic output. "Oil prices are currently influenced by trade tensions and market risk sentiment," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. China last week announced it would increase rare earth export controls and U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 100% and tighten software export curbs from November 1. "Beyond U.S.-China trade relations and the progress of talks, the key for oil prices now is the degree of oversupply, reflected in changes in global inventories," said Yang An, analyst at Haitong Futures. For a view on U.S. demand, traders await weekly inventory data. U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have risen last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories likely fell, a preliminary Reuters poll showed. Six analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories rose by about 200,000 barrels in the week to October 10. The weekly industry report from the American Petroleum Institute is expected at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Wednesday, and U.S. Energy Information Administration data at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Thursday.  Both reports are delayed by a day due to the Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day holiday on Monday. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in London, Sam Li in Beijing and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Mark Potter and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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(Reuters) -Abbott's quarterly revenue fell short of analysts' expectations on Wednesday, as weakness in its diagnostics and nutritional businesses failed to offset strong demand for its medical devices. Shares of the company dropped nearly 3% premarket following the results. Abbott's total revenue of $11.37 billion, slightly missed analysts' average estimate of $11.40 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sales in its diagnostics segment fell 6.6% to $2.25 billion, missing the estimate of $2.29 billion. Medical device makers are navigating post-COVID-19 normalization and regulatory headwinds, weighing on growth in the business. On an adjusted basis, Abbott reported third-quarter profit per share of $1.30, in line with analysts' average estimate. The company said it now expects annual adjusted profit to be between $5.12 and $5.18 per share, compared to its previous range of $5.10 to $5.20. (Reporting by Kamal Choudhury and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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