Snap shares soar in market debut

Snapchat parent Snap Inc. saw shares in its initial public offering soar more than 40% in the first minutes of trading Thursday, opening at $24 a share from a Wednesday night price of $17. Wednesday's offering of 200 million shares valued the company at $23.6 billion, the largest technology debut since Alibaba's in 2014. The young ephemeral photo messaging company posted a $515 million loss last year.

Nonetheless, investors have bet on its quickly growing revenue and visionary leader, 26-year-old co-founder CEO Evan Spiegel.