(Reuters) -Shares of ServiceTitan rose about 42% in their U.S. market debut on Thursday, giving the cloud-based software company a valuation of $8.97 billion.

The company’s shares opened at $101 apiece in their Nasdaq debut, compared with the initial public offering (IPO) price of $71.

Strong equity markets, the prospect of lower interest rates and expectations of a soft landing for the economy have bolstered investor confidence in the U.S. IPO market this year.

ServiceTitan joins a handful of venture capital-backed firms that have gone public this year, including social media platform Reddit and cybersecurity software firm Rubrik.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Jaiveer Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shreya Biswas)