Facebook shares see modest debut

Facebook shares ended their first day of trading at $38.23, barely above the company's initial pricing of $38.

Shares in the social network rose more than 10% to $42 within minutes of trade beginning, before quickly falling back.

Later gains were wiped out too at the end of a fluctuating day's trade, as the firm's debut on the Nasdaq exchange was also delayed by a technical glitch.

Mark Zuckerberg, 28, who started Facebook while at university, remotely opened trading on the Nasdaq earlier.

He appeared via a video link from a celebration at the firm's headquarters in California.

There had been a delay of about half an hour in the start of trading in Facebook shares, caused by a technical problem, which analysts say reflected the huge demand for the stock.

When trading did get underway, more than 500 million shares in the company changed hands.

The $38 share price values the eight-year-old social network site at $104bn.

:story: BBC News