Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares are trading higher by 2.6% to $110.87 Friday afternoon, following stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings from key financial sector players.

Major banks like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and BlackRock delivered results that outpaced analyst forecasts, setting a positive tone for the broader market.

What To Know: The rally in financial stocks boosted the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), which climbed nearly 2% to reach record highs. Investor sentiment toward the sector improved dramatically as banks demonstrated resilience in core areas such as investment banking, trading revenues, and net interest income (NII).

With peers in the industry...