technology

Facebook Inc is considering a stock-listing proposal put forward by the New York Stock Exchange, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, in the wake of a disappointing initial public offering last week on the rival Nasdaq bourse.

Social media stocks, led by Zynga Inc , slumped in volatile trading as traders used the securities to hedge or bet against the star of the sector, Facebook Inc , which went public in a disappointing debut on Friday.

Facebook Inc's underwhelming debut on Wall Street increases the pressure on the social networking giant to deliver stellar growth - a novel situation for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has been clear he is more interested in building products than making money.

The historic initial public offering of Facebook Inc did not go as planned on Friday, as the social networking company's sky-high valuation combined with trading glitches left the stock languishing near its offering price at the market close.

Lead Facebook Inc underwriter Morgan Stanley took a bet earlier this week when it increased the size of the social networking firm's $16 billion initial public offering and it boosted the price.

The market debut was disappointing compared with some recent tech IPOs. LinkedIn, a business-oriented social network, doubled its share price on its first day, and Groupon, a discount deal aggregator, jumped 30%. Facts & figures

Individual investors were left in the dark for hours on Friday about whether their buy and sell orders for newly issued Facebook shares had actually been executed, in the latest of a series high-profile exchange glitches in recent years.

Even the hottest initial public stock offerings can lose steam after their first day of trading. Keep in mind that buying Facebook stock Friday provides a chance to lose money

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, one of the three lead underwriters on the Facebook Inc IPO, has increased the number of Facebook shares it will allow advisers to allocate to each client account.

If you are one of the almost one billion people who use Facebook, you are unlikely to notice any major changes when you sign in this weekend. But a few years from now, the ripple effects of Friday's events could make things look dramatically different.

Worried that if you buy Facebook when it starts trading Friday you'll get trampled by big banks and hedge funds? Betting on where the stock closes that day may be a safer wager.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose limited role in promoting the No 1 social network's market debut has drawn criticism, laid out its growth strategy to investors on Friday, saying that transforming its mobile and advertising experience are top priorities in 2012.

Sony Corp shed more than 7 percent to hit a near 32-year low on Friday, a day after it posted a record annual loss of $5.7 billion and failed to convince investors that it has a sound strategy to turn around its loss-making TV business and boost smartphone sales.

Facebook Inc's record initial public offering is already oversubscribed, a source familiar with the share listing said, days after the world's largest social network embarked on a cross-country roadshow to drum up investor enthusiasm.

As Facebook Inc prepares to market its $10.6 billion initial public offering to U.S. fund managers next week, brokerage Wedbush Securities set a $44-per-share price target that implies a potential capital gain of about 40 percent for IPO investors.