JPMorgan profit rises as volatile markets drive trading division

April 14 (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase reported a rise in first-quarter profit on Tuesday as its trading division got a boost from volatility across global markets.

Net income rose to $16.5 billion, or $5.94 per share, in the three months ended March 31, compared with $14.6 billion, or $5.07 per share, a year earlier.

“There is an increasingly complex set of risks – such as geopolitical tensions and wars, energy price volatility, trade uncertainty, large global fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

“While we cannot predict how these risks and uncertainties will ultimately play out, they are significant and they reinforce why we prepare the Firm for a wide range of environments.”

Worries about the impact of artificial intelligence on software companies and the uncertain outcome of the Iran war have rattled global financial markets in the first quarter, triggering repeated bouts of selloff.

Volatility typically lifts trading businesses at large banks as it spurs clients to rebalance portfolios, trade more actively and hedge risks.

JPMorgan’s markets revenue rose 20% in the first quarter and was a key driver of the bank’s results, just like at Wall Street rival Goldman Sachs, which beat expectations for quarterly results on Monday.

Shares of the bank rose 1% in premarket trading after results.

SPOTLIGHT ON DEALMAKING

U.S. investment banks are expecting a strong year as they eye mega listings of big AI and space companies, as well as a revival in dealmaking on hopes that President Donald Trump’s administration would go easy on regulations.

Though volatile market conditions have led to cautious forecasts on M&A activity, banking executives say companies are showing a healthy appetite for deals.

JPMorgan’s investment banking fees rose 28% in the first quarter versus a year earlier, the highest among global banks during the period, according to data from Dealogic. The total value of mergers and acquisitions crossed $1 trillion.

Among its major deals in the quarter, JPMorgan was the bookrunner on tech giant Amazon’s $37 billion bond offering and served as lead adviser to AES on its announced $33.4 billion take-private transaction.

It was also among the lead underwriters on SoftBank-owned fintech firm PayPay’s $880 million U.S. initial public offering in March.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Anil D’Silva)