As Wall Street draws the curtain on a tumultuous quarter in which stocks logged a record high before tumbling into correction, investors are faced with a mountain of policy uncertainty that clouds the outlook for coming quarters.

That is up 34% from last year’s bonus pool of $35.4 billion and the highest number since records began in 1987.

The average annual payout jumped 31% to $244,700.

U.S. stocks swerved through another shaky day of trading, with uncertainty still high about just what President Donald Trump will announce about tariffs on his “Liberation Day.”

Wall Street banker bonuses rose 31.5% to an average $244,700 last year as dealmaking rebounded, but the boom times may wane as economic uncertainty rises, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Wednesday.

There's a new Trump trade on Wall Street, and it's as volatile as the president's agenda.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% in another roller-coaster day, after being down as much as 1.7% during the morning. The reversal helped the index shave its loss for the first three months of the year to 4.6%, making it the worst quarter in two-and-a-half years.

The bonus pool for New York City's securities employees hit a record $47.5B in 2024, up 34% Y/Y, marking its first major increase since COVID-19 pandemic highs, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said on Wednesday in the office's annual estimate.

After initially retreating ahead of Trump’s “Liberation Day” of new trade levies, US indices forged higher during the session amid hopes that markets have oversold in anticipation of the plan