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New York • Shutting the window on initial public offerings is easier than opening it.

In the past two weeks stock benchmarks have plummeted, casting a shadow on deals that were expected later this year.

Already, cloud-storage provider Box Inc. and Good Technology Corp. have delayed their share sales until next year, people familiar with the matter have said. Others, from online-dating site Zoosk Inc. to GoDaddy Inc., the Internet domain marketplace, are watching the markets to decide if they'll also punt their deals to 2015, other people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Zoosk filed to go public in April, while GoDaddy filed in June.

IPOs often reflect what's going on in the broader equity markets. They benefit when stocks are high and investors have a greater appetite for risk. When fund managers start losing money as the market sells off, demand withers. Also, it's difficult to sell shares when a company's publicly-traded peers are sliding.

"Nobody wishes they went public today or over the last week," said Max Wolff, the chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners, an investment firm focusing on late-stage private technology companies. "A regular bout of intense selling, like we're seeing now, makes people feel like it's smart to stay private longer."

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index has declined 5.6 percent in October - the biggest monthly drop in more than 2 years.

Representatives for San Francisco-based Zoosk and GoDaddy, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, declined to comment on their plans to go public.

Since the S&P 500 reached a record high on Sept. 18, 35 companies have raised $9.7 billion through IPOs in the U.S., excluding Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s $25 billion share sale. Those companies have declined an average of 2.4 percent since their debuts, a performance that may dissuade others from going public now.

"Turbulent market selloffs make people more nervous about being public," Wolff said.

That skittishness has already prompted several IPO prospects to officially shelve their sales. Euronav, a Belgian oil shipper, postponed its U.S. IPO due to "unfavorable current capital market conditions," according to a press release Wednesday. British lender Aldermore Group also deferred its IPO, for the same reason.

Those that have pushed forward have had to trim the size of their sales. Great Western Bancorp Inc. priced its IPO below the marketed range, and Jimmy Choo Ltd. narrowed the price range for its offering, lowering the high end.

Companies that have more difficulty in choppy markets are those that lack profitability and strong cash flow, said Wolff. Those that are bigger and more mature tend to withstand the storm, he said.

Fourth quarters have historically been very busy for IPOs. Going back to 2000, the last three months of the year have been the strongest, in terms of money raised, for seven of those years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Some experts are still optimistic that it's not too late for companies to get their deals done in 2014.

"There's a natural tendency for many issuers to want to get deals done by the end of the year," said Tim Keating, chief executive officer of BDCA Venture Inc., a late-stage pre-IPO growth investor. "If market conditions improve, boards will be able to move on a dime to take advantage of an opportunity to price before year-end and will do so."

Wolff says that if the market does reverse course and begin to climb again, there may be a rush of companies that seek to take advantage.

"If you have a selloff and then the market starts to stabilize and rise, people have a sense of capturing the opportunity more," he said. "A weak period reminds you that the appetite for risk isn't eternal."