LinkedIn shares more than double on first day

Dow Jones:12,605.32 (+45.14) S&P 500:1,343.60 (+2.92) Nasdaq:2,823.31 (+8.31)

US STOCKS rose yesterday after fewer Americans than forecast filed jobless claims and global companies announced $22 billion of takeovers.

LinkedIn more than doubled as the professional-networking company debuted after an initial public offering. The business-focused networking website was up 133.4 per cent to $105.03 after pricing on Wednesday night at $45 a share, which was already at the top end of its projected range.

LinkedIn has received a huge amount of attention as the first US social networking and Web 2.0 company to go public ahead of its larger rival Facebook, retail services company Groupon and social games service Zynga.

US jobless claims declined by 29,000 to 409,000 last week, bolstering confidence in the economy.

The SP 500 gained after Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to buy closely-held Nycomed for €9.6 billion, and Toshiba offered $2.3 billion for Swiss electronic-metering company Landis+Gyr.

Gains in the SP 500 were led by industrial and telephone companies, with only healthcare stocks retreating among 10 groups.

American Express, McDonald’s and Boeing climbed at least 1.1 per cent to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 45.14 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 12,605.32.

Thermo Fisher Scientific jumped 4.2 per cent after agreeing to buy Phadia for about $3.5 billion to grow in testing for allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Intel, KLA-Tencor and Applied Materials slumped at least 1.2 per cent as Goldman Sachs cut its ratings on the stocks amid increased competition and excess supply.

BlackRock rallied 2.5 per cent to $198.10. Bank of America, the largest US lender by assets, agreed to sell its remaining stake in BlackRock back to the world’s biggest money manager for about $2.5 billion.

Big Lots tumbled 11 per cent, the most since December 2008, to $33.77. The Wall Street Journalsaid on Wednesday that bids from buyout firms came in lower than anticipated.

Earlier yesterday stocks turned lower after a report showed that sales of existing homes unexpectedly declined in April, indicating the industry is struggling to gain traction. – (Reuters/Bloomberg)