<p>Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $888 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1 billion, or 55 cents, in the same year-ago period. Excluding items, the investment bank earned 50 cents a share on revenue of $7.9 billion.</p><p>Wall Street had expected Morgan Stanley to issue earnings excluding items of 40 cents a share on $7.7 billion in revenue, according to analysts polled by Reuters.</p><p>“Overall, our stronger year-over-year revenues and net income reflect the progress we have made to position the Firm well for the future,” said James P. Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.</p><p>On Friday, shares rose 2.13 percent to $29.55 in morning trading. </p><p>U.S. stocks rose on Friday, as investors also weighed third-quarter corporate earnings results from General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and tech-giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).</p><p>The Dow Jones industrial average was up 4.11 points, or 0.03 percent, to 15,375.76. The S&P 500 Index rose 4.81 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,737.96. The Nasdaq Composite gained 29.58 points, or 0.77 percent, to 3,892.726.</p>
