Oct 4 (Reuters) - Shares of China's BingEx

surged 17% on Friday as the courier delivery firm shrugged off a

sluggish start to its Nasdaq debut.

The company, which brands its services as FlashEx, priced

its IPO at $16.50 each. Shares opened flat for trading, fetching

a valuation of $1.17 billion.

Chinese companies are slowly returning to float on U.S.

markets following a long hiatus after ride-hailing giant Didi

Global delisted in 2021 due to pressure from regulators.

EV maker Zeekr's debut earlier this year was the

first big listing by a Chinese company in the U.S. since then.

BingEx sold 4 million American depositary shares (ADS) to

raise $66 million.

It also bodes well for the broader IPO market that is on the

road to recovery, driven by a recent searing rally in equities

and the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy

easing cycle.

"This year has been dominated by uncertainties about when

the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates and who

will occupy the White House from January 2025. Now we've got

clarity on the former and will soon know the answer to the

latter," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

Analysts expect investors will be warmer toward riskier

investments next year as uncertainty and market jitters abate,

further boosting the IPO market.

"Any company waiting in the wings to float should be in a

better position by the end of 2024 to decide whether to press

the button or not," Coatsworth added.

BingEx was the largest independent on-demand dedicated

courier service provider in China by revenue in 2023, it said,

citing data from iResearch. It operates in over 295 cities in

the country.

Deutsche Bank Securities, CICC and CLSA are the underwriters

to the offering.