The gains lifted the S&P 500 to a new record closing high

The gains lifted the S&P 500 to a new record closing high, while the Nasdaq once again reached its best levels since 2000. The Dow rose 61.07 points or 0.4 percent to 15,570.28, the Nasdaq climbed 14.40 points or .4 percent to 3,943.36 and the S&P 500 advanced 7.70 points or 0.4 percent to 1,759.77.Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Friday. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.U.S. crude oil settled higher for a second straight session Friday,Fashion Dresses mostly on bargain hunting as reports filtered in that Saudi Arabia is cutting down oil shipments due to increased global supplies and on demand growth hopes after China's upbeat manufacturing data Thursday.

When it was preparing to go public in 2012, Facebook kindled hopes that the broad interest in the company would accelerate a slow rise in new stock offerings.Twitter may be the most eagerly awaited market debutante since Facebook, but its initial public offering doesn't carry the same weight of market expectations. In some respects, it will be just one of several billion-dollar I.P.O.'s this year. As Twitter this week begins an eight-city road show to pitch its stock sale to big institutional shareholders like Fidelity, BlackRock and Legg Mason,Fashion Dresses it will be entering one of the strongest markets for I.P.O.'s in three years, especially in the United States. Despite Facebook's initial stumble in its market debut in May 2012, investors have shown a growing appetite for initial offerings,Fashion Dresses eager to take risks in hopes of big rewards when newly public companies' stocks rise.

Retail investors, in particular the very wealthy, are also seeking exposure to soaring stock of new companies."High net worth private client individuals who were reluctant to participate in the I.P.O. market a year ago are increasingly reallocating money towards equities," said Neil A. Mitchell, a managing director of equity capital markets at Credit Suisse.This year, 169 companies have gone public in the United States, raising $45 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Both figures are at the highest levels since the financial crisis of 2008,Fashion Dresses though the number of offerings remains below the level set before the financial crisis. And nine companies have raised more than $1 billion in their debuts so far in 2013, the largest number in at least five years.

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