GM stock rises on second day

DETROIT (AP) - General Motors' stock rose the second day it traded as it rebounded from an early swoon.

The automaker's stock closed at $34.26, up 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, on Friday. The broader market rose modestly.

After a successful return to public markets the day before, GM's stock dropped $1.08 to $33.11 in the first half-hour of trading Friday before investors started buying again.

The demand gradually lifted the stock price until it finally rose above Thursday's close of $34.19 just before the end of trading. The stock was traded more than 100 million times, less than one-quarter of its volume on Thursday.

The company's stock went public amid an impressive turnaround 16 months after exiting a bankruptcy.

After being priced at $33 a share in the IPO, the stock opened at $35 on its first day of trading Thursday. It ended the day up 3.6 percent, after trading as high as $35.99 in the first few minutes of trading. Almost 457 million GM shares traded, about one tenth of all trading of New York Stock Exchange shares.

The government and GM's other owners sold 478 million common shares in the IPO, bringing in a total of $15.8 billion. The government is on its way to getting back at least part of the $50 billion it spent bailing out GM last year.

The federal treasury made $11.8 billion in the IPO by selling 358 million shares, reducing its ownership stake about 36 percent from 61 percent. It stands to make $13.6 billion - and lower its stake to 33 percent - if bankers exercise options for 54 million more shares. If the options are taken, the government will have 500 million shares left, and they must sell for $53 each in order to get all the bailout money back.

The bankers have 30 days to exercise their options, and if they do, it would add 72 million shares to the number now on the market, bringing the total to 550 million.