Equities overhauled fixed income, currencies and commodities for the first time in more than four years to become the biggest revenue driver at Goldman Sachs in the second quarter, helping the Wall Street bank to obliterate analyst predictions as net profits fell just a tenth to $2.1bn (€1.4bn).

Analysts had on average expected Goldman to report $3.43 earnings per share for the second quarter to May 30, down nearly one-third from the bank’s performance a year earlier, according to news service Thomson Reuters First Call.