U.S. Stocks Start Trading On The NYSE With Twitter IPO On Deck

Wall Street gets off to a flat start on ECB rate cut. Traders prepare for a busy day as Twitter makes its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 7, 2013) (NYSE) - U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday (November 7) after an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank, though gains were limited after data showed the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, raising concerns about when the Federal Reserve might cut back on its stimulus.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 32.75 points, or 0.21 percent, at 15,779.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.51 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,772.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.01 points, or 0.05 percent, at 3,933.96.

Twitter Inc shares were indicated at between $45 and $47 (USD) in a sign they would rocket higher in opening trade as investors bet on potential growth at the money-losing social media company.

Representatives of Twitter were on hand at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell, including British actor Patrick Stewart.

The microblogging network priced its 70 million shares at above the targeted range of $23 to $25, which had been raised once before. The IPO values Twitter at $14.1 billion, with the potential to reach $14.4 billion if underwriters exercise an overallotment option.

If the full overallotment is exercised, as expected, Twitter could raise in excess of $2.1 billion, making it the second largest Internet offering in the United States behind Facebook Inc's $16 billion IPO last year and ahead of Google Inc's 2004 IPO, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Twitter boasts 230 million global users, including heads of state and celebrities, but it lost $65 million in its most recent quarter and questions remained about long-term prospects.

It also lacks the ubiquity of Facebook or the "stickiness" factor that keeps people checking the No. 1 social network on a daily basis.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll last month showed that 36 percent of people who signed up for a Twitter account say they do not use it.