Morgan Stanley basked in praise as Wall Street’s only bank stock to rise yesterday after posting new profits earned the old-fashioned way.

The bank’s surprise first-quarter profit of $1.8 billion in continuing operations marked a sweeping recovery from its string of losses in the recession, including a $17 million loss a year earlier.

Analysts lauded the bank’s ability under its new chief, James Gorman, to harness its once reckless trading apparatus — which nearly sank the bank a year ago — and triple revenue to $9.1 billion by pure trading plays in fixed-income.

Shares jumped 4 percent to $31.68, up $1.23, enriching their market value by $1.7 billion.

“They finally delivered on the trading side,” said Anton Schutz of Mendon Capital.

Total client assets climbed 3 percent to $1.6 trillion.