Fading fears of runaway inflation have given US stocks a leg-up. Equity investors are growing more hopeful that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate rises and reignite demand for risk. The S&P 500 is up 13 per cent from its June low. The Nasdaq Composite index, which has a higher proportion of technology stocks, is up 17 per cent. But do not expect a corresponding rise in initial public offerings.
Last year set a record for global listings, with over 3,000 companies joining public markets, according to data compiled by law firm White & Case. The US was the biggest market, responsible for a third of the total. Electric vehicle maker Rivian alone raised close to $14bn.
This year the market is dry. The second quarter was the slowest for US IPOs in more than a decade, reports research company Renaissance Capital. The lack of listings means a growing pile of private, venture capital-backed companies worth $1bn or more. Crunchbase counts 1,395, up from 1,000 a year ago. Payments company Stripe and social media platform Reddit are two of the largest expected debuts that remain private.