NEW YORK, May 20 ― Squarespace Inc's valuation plunged by more than a third in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, after shares of the website-hosting service fell 13 per cent below their reference price amid a broader market sell-off.

Shares of the New York-based company opened at US$48 (RM198.80) apiece on a day when Wall Street's main indexes were down on inflation jitters. The NYSE had set a reference price of US$50 each.

Its latest share price of US$43.7 gave Squarespace a market capitalisation of less than US$6 billion ― a steep drop from its valuation of US$10 billion after a funding round in March.

The NYSE reference price was already at a 27 per cent discount to the private deal that Squarespace completed in March at US$68.42 a share.

Rival Wix.com Ltd had a market capitalisation of US$12.8 billion as of Tuesday, while GoDaddy Inc was worth US$13.7 billion, as of last close.

The latest stock market float comes days after choppy market conditions forced at least three companies, including mortgage insurer Enact Holdings Inc and hearing care services company Hear.com, to pull their stock market flotations.

Squarespace's lacklustre opening follows a record 15-month run in the US IPO market, as investors rushed to buy stocks of high-growth tech companies, such as fintech firm Affirm Holdings and South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc.

So far in 2021, well over US$150 billion has been raised through US IPOs, according to data from Dealogic, putting it on track to comfortably eclipse last year's tally of US$167 billion.

However, fears of inflation have forced investors to abandon high-growth technology stocks, leading to a cool-off in US capital markets.

Squarespace, which had confidentially filed for a stock market listing in January this year, went public through a direct listing in which no shares are sold in advance and the debut price is determined by orders coming into the stock exchange.

Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are the financial advisers for the listing. ― Reuters