While the initial public offering of social media darling Twitter dominates the media spotlight today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.11%) remains subdued, giving up some of its lovely gains from yesterday. Two of the big banks involved in the IPO, JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.49%) and Goldman Sachs (GS -0.23%), have seen their stock prices rise and fall so far today, despite the excitement surrounding the Twitter spectacle.

A slew of economic indicators were released earlier today, which, put together, seem to average out on the positive side. The Department of Labor released initial jobless claim information, presenting an adjusted figure of 336,000, against analysts' expectations of 335,000 -- and a drop from the prior week of 9,000.

Some decent news from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that the country's Gross Domestic Product increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, a nice surprise given that economists were predicting a dip, down to 2% from the previous quarter's 2.5%.

Unfortunately, Bloomberg's Consumer Comfort Index took another hit, registering a 37.9, compared with the previous reading of 37.6. Consumers are apparently still unimpressed with the economic recovery -- which doesn't bode well for the holiday shopping season.

Twitter fanfare: Is Square next?
Despite some concerns about the sustainability of Twitter's business model, the IPO is in full swing this morning, with its new asking price of $26 per share. Investors' enthusiasm apparently knows no bounds, however, and traders noted orders coming in between $40 and $44 by midmorning. One hour later, the first trade occurred, at $45.10 -- and, at one hour before noon, the stock price is registering $47.12.

Though in the red at the moment, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs should see a lift from this party atmosphere, not to mention the nearly $60 million worth of fees that they, and other underwriters, will split.

With this deal under their belts, it's probable that both big banks will be participating in even more transactions in the future. For Goldman, the Twitter deal represents a swipe at competitor Morgan Stanley, which is more involved in deals involving tech firms. Indeed, it looks like Goldman's move may have paid off already. The Wall Street Journal notes that payments company Square has spoken with big banks, including Goldman and Morgan Stanley, regarding a possible IPO of its own next year.