One of the most anticipated IPOs of all time ended in disappointment on Friday.
Uber Technologies Inc has considered going public for four years but, despite pricing its shares at the low end of its target range at $45, ended the first day down 7.6 per cent at $41.57.
Only a fifth of IPOs have ended their first day of trading in the red in the last two years, according to Dealogic.
Uber has suffered climbing losses and been hit by a string of scandals in recent times.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor on Friday, tried to calm investors.
“My reaction is if we build and build well, shareholders will be rewarded. We’re certainly not measuring our success over a day, it really is over the years,” Khosrowshahi told Reuters.
Shares in rival ride-hailing firm Lyft also plunged 6.9 per cent on Friday, putting them 28 per cent below its IPO price.