Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $888 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1 billion, or 55 cents, in the same year-ago period. Excluding items, the investment bank earned 50 cents a share on revenue of $7.9 billion.Wall Street had expected Morgan Stanley to issue earnings excluding items of 40 cents a share on $7.7 billion in revenue, according to analysts polled by Reuters.“Overall, our stronger year-over-year revenues and net income reflect the progress we have made to position the Firm well for the future,” said James P. Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.On Friday, shares rose 2.13 percent to $29.55 in morning trading.  U.S. stocks rose on Friday, as investors also weighed third-quarter corporate earnings results from General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and tech-giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).The Dow Jones industrial average was up 4.11 points, or 0.03 percent, to 15,375.76. The S&P 500 Index rose 4.81 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,737.96. The Nasdaq Composite gained 29.58 points, or 0.77 percent, to 3,892.726.