A bright performance in equities sales and trading at Bank of America Merrill Lynch failed to prevent third-quarter underlying net profits from global markets dropping 39% from a year ago, as monetary policy concerns and political uncertainty took their toll on revenues from fixed income, currencies and commodities.

In its quarterly earnings statement released Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said its underlying net profits from global markets - the bank's sales and trading business - fell to $531 million in the three months to September, down 39% from $872 million a year earlier.