The tech companies completed direct listings, meaning no additional shares were created for sale to the public. Data-mining firm Palantir began at US$10 a share, above the bourse’s reference price of US$7.25; it closed at US$9.73. Asana ended Wednesday at US$29.96, up from its US$21 reference price. (The Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Slack and Spotify, the only two other major tech firms to have gone the direct route, also closed above their exchange-announced indicator prices on Day 1. But they’ve largely traded below that level since, as investors avoided money-losing tech firms last year. Firms that went public via traditional IPOs in 2020 have fared extremely well. Unlike Asana, Palantir imposed a lockup period—a wait-to-sell restriction that direct listings are typically designed to avoid—on holders of most of its shares.