New York — Goldman Sachs Group reported a nearly fourfold rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, benefiting from a surge in trading following Donald Trump’s surprise win in the US presidential election. The fifth largest US bank by assets, which relies more on revenue from trading stocks and bonds than other Wall Street companies, posted a 25% jump in trading in the fourth quarter compared with the prior year. Goldman reported revenue from trading fixed income, currency and commodities soared 78% to more than $2bn, making the business the biggest revenue driver for the firm. Morgan Stanley, Goldman’s closest rival, reported on Tuesday that revenue from fixed-income trading more than doubled in the latest quarter. Equities revenue at Goldman fell 9% to $1.6bn. The bank relies heavily on hedge fund clients, which drove less trading activity at the end of 2016, UBS analyst Brennan Hawken said. While Goldman typically relies more on trading than its competitors, it has been trying over ...
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