IPO hopes rise for new year after Fed’s early holiday gift

Bankers advising companies on stock market listings are hopeful that the new year will bring a recovery in initial public offerings after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it may start reversing the fastest escalation in interest rates in decades. "The IPO markets will be much better in 2024 than they were this year, and my gut tells me that both volumes and breath of access will progress as we move through the year," said Daniel Ludwig, global head of equity capital markets (ECM) at Goldman Sachs. For IPOs, in particular, 2023 has seen the lowest levels of activity in since 2016.