Shares in Twitter have gone on sale to the public for the first time, instantly leaping more than 70% above their offering price in a dazzling debut that exceeded even Wall Street’s lofty hopes.

Facebook Inc, reporting its first results since selling shares to the public, posted sales that topped analysts’ estimates, signalling buoyant demand for advertising and reassuring investors who have pummelled the shares on concern over the company’s growth prospects.

Microsoft Corp took another step toward its goal of turning the Xbox into the nexus of household entertainment, unveiling software to let users view extra content, control games and surf the internet from their tablets and smartphones.

Facebook’s stock has fallen well below its $38 IPO price in the social network’s second day of trading as a public company.

ONLINE game company Zynga filed for an initial public offering (IPO) yesterday, hoping to raise up to $1 billion (€688m).