Stock market volatility good for firm: Howard Lutnick
The recent surge in stock volatility is a good thing for brokerages, according to Howard Lutnick.
“When we win, it’s busy,” Lutnick, chairman and CEO of BGC Partners (NASDAQ:BGCP), said on FOX Business’ “Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street” in an interview.
Higher interest rates and the jolt provided by tax cuts are positive, Lutnick said
“Now you’ve got this adrenaline pump of a tax cut, and you have interest rates sort of creeping higher,” he said. “That is creating a dynamic that is going to move this market around.
BGC, a publicly traded real estate and securities brokerage, is an offshoot of the private securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald, where Lutnick is chairman and CEO. He rebuilt the firm after more than 600 employees died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
BGC reported Friday that fourth-quarter adjusted earnings increased more than 25% to $162 million from $128 million a year earlier. Its stock has climbed almost 15% in the past year.