US stocks surge on Facebook IPO hopes

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By: AAP | Latest Business News | Thursday February 2 2012 6:52

UUS stocks have bolted higher as an expected Facebook debut on the market fired up sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 104.52 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 12,737.43 in the first five minutes of trade.

The S&P 500, a broader measure of the markets, added 10.63 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 1,323.04.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 18.06 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 2,831.90.

"Wall Street is cheering increased speculation about a long-awaited initial public offering from social media site Facebook," said Karee Venema at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Facebook is poised to file papers for an IPO seeking to raise at least $US5 billion as early as Wednesday morning, according to US media reports.

US stocks closed mixed around the neutral line on Tuesday after the release of data showing continuing weakness in home prices and slumping consumer confidence.

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