Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase kicked off banks earnings season with blowout results. Here's what it could mean for hiring across Wall Street.

A groundswell of activity in boardrooms and on trading floors is hyping up investors about the coming year for some of the biggest banks. But that isn’t the whole story for the Main Street banking sector.

Wall Street has been seesawing for weeks as traders tear up their forecasts for what the Fed will do with interest rates in 2025. A further easing would boost the U.S. economy and prices for investments, but it could also give inflation more fuel.

Wall Street banks JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup notched up strong rises in profits at the end of last year, powered by a boom in trading and dealmaking. JPMorgan’s net earnings rose 50 per cent per cent to $14bn,

Profits at some of the biggest U.S. lenders rose in the fourth quarter as dealmaking picked up and trading was boosted by strong equity markets, sparking a rally in banking stocks on Wednesday.

Citigroup reported earnings of $1.34 per share for the fourth quarter, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $1.22. A year ago, the bank posted a loss of $1.16 a share. Shares rose 3.6% in premarket trading.