The long-awaited public market debut of the Alibaba Group, the Chinese Internet titan, did not disappoint on Friday, eclipsing every other company that has started to sell stock so far this year.
After pricing at $68 a share on Thursday night, Alibaba’s shares opened sharply higher on Friday and finished the day up 38 percent, at $93.89. Yet even Alibaba’s blockbuster stock sale appears unlikely to dampen a yearlong enthusiasm for initial public offerings as start-ups and private companies continue to flock to the stock markets.
Image: Maggie Wu, Alibaba's chief financial officer, rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times
