JPMorgan posts Q1 profit of USD 14.6 billion; CEO warns of uncertainty over global trade

New York: JPMorgan's net income rose 9 per cent to USD 14.6 billion in the first quarter and the New York bank beat Wall Street's profit and revenue targets, but it's chief executive warned of global economic uncertainties ahead due to President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war and other geopolitical tensions.

CEO Jamie Dimon said a strong performance by the bank's markets division helped lift the bank to another strong quarter.

JPMorgan's earnings per share rose to USD 5.07 per share from USD 4.44 a year ago. The result beat Wall Street profit projections of USD 4.63 a share, according to the data firm FactSet. Total managed revenue hit USD 46 billion, up from the USD 41.9 billion a year ago. Wall Street was expecting revenue of USD 44 billion.

Trump's herky-jerky tariff increases — currently bumped up by 10 per cent for most US trading partners and 145 per cent for China — have sent financial markets into dizzying fluctuations for weeks and created an enormous amount of uncertainty about where the global economy is headed. That's bad for banks, which thrive on stability and healthy consumers and businesses borrowing money.

JPMorgan shares rose 3.1 per cent in premarket trading. (AP)