The first day of trading for initial public offerings leaped into the double digits in the third quarter, the best performance in two years as technology float debuts skyrocketed to offset losses by The Blackstone Group and other highly anticipated IPOs.

Average one-day returns for the third quarter to August 15 were 14% compared with 14.3% in the third quarter of 2005. Technology companies were responsible for the most dramatic jump in first day offerings. VMware, a data storage provider owned by EMC, soared 76% on its first day of trading from $29 per share to close at $51 per share.