Ally profit widens, preferreds finish mixed; market eyes Morgan Stanley redemptions

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, April 28 – The preferred stock market was looking to improve in early Tuesday trading but as was the case in the previous session came back in to end marginally weaker.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index dropped 4 basis points. The index was up 2 bps at mid-morning.

Aside from a couple notable names, overall liquidity remained muted as the Federal Reserve began a two-day policy meeting that could give clues as to when interest rates will increase.

Ally Financial Inc. released its first-quarter results before the market opened on Tuesday, posting a profit that more than doubled from year-ago figures.

The rise in income was attributed to a one-time gain of $400 million related to the company’s sale of its stake in a Chinese joint venture.

Early in the day, the company’s preferreds were weakening, but by the bell, paper was ending mixed.

Also topical for the day was Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., which announced late Monday the redemption of certain trust preferred securities. One market source noted that the move was “bizarre,” given the bank’s previous statements.

“It completely contradicted what they have been saying for the last nine months,” the source said.

The source added that among the day’s top five most actively traded paying securities, Morgan Stanley appeared three times.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.