First Data Shares Open Above Their IPO Price

First Data Corp. shares opened at $16.39 on their first day of trading, above their issue price of $16. The payment-processing company priced the deal late Wednesday below its price range of $18 to $20. The company sold 160 million shares to raise $2.56 billion. Grocery retailer Albertsons Companies. Inc. opted to delay its IPO, which was also expected to price on Wednesday, citing market conditions. Retail stocks took a beating on Wednesday, after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled a plan to beef up its U.S. and e-commerce businesses that will entail a lot of spending and erode profits. The company also said it will buy back $20 billion of stock over two years. Neiman Marcus postponed its IPO on Tuesday, in the hope that the market will improve by early next year, according to The Wall Street Journal.