Morgan Stanley's stock jumps into bull-market territory ahead of earnings

Shares of Morgan Stanley shot up 4.8% in afternoon trade Wednesday, enough to enter bull-market territory, a day before the broker is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results. The rally comes after shares of fellow large-capitalization financial Goldman Sachs Group Inc. soared 9.1% and Bank of America Corp. ran up 7.7% after they reported better-than-expected results. Morgan Stanley's stock is trading 21.5% above its 2-year closing low of $37.01 on Dec. 24; many chart watchers define a bull market as a rally of 20% or more off a bear-market low. Morgan Stanley is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results before Thursday's open. It has beat earnings expectations the past 12 quarters and has beat on revenue the past 10 quarters. Morgan Stanley's stock has slipped 2.3% over the past three months, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has given up 4.6% and the S&P 500 has shed 6.6%.

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