MILAN (Reuters) - Shares in online retailer Yoox (YOOX.MI) jumped above their high-end issue price at their debut on Thursday 3 December, tapping into reviving investor appetite for equities in the first initial public offering in Milan in 20 months.

Photo: www.yoox.com

After 16 minutes of trading, Yoox shares were up 4.9 percent at 4.51 euros after touching a high at 4.6 euros, outperforming a 0.9 percent gain in Milan's overall index .FTITLMS.

The IPO was priced at 4.3 euros -- toward the top of the 3.6-4.5 euros range initially indicated.

The company is the first to float on Milan's main MTA market, listing on its Star segment, after a 20-month hiatus caused by market turbulence.

Europe's IPO market has lagged Asia and the United States this year, with volumes of $741 million in the first three quarters dwarfed by Asia's $35 billion and less than one-tenth of U.S. volumes.

But the fourth quarter has seen a pick-up with $4.1 billion of IPOs in Europe up to early November, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Yoox sells fashion clothes and accessories on the Internet and operates the online retail websites of designer brands such as Emporio Armani, Valentino and Marni.

Yoox has said it was confident about floating in uncertain markets because the company had strong growth prospects to offer potential investors as online fashion retailing picks up.

Yoox founder Federico Marchetti has said the company raised about 27 million euros in its capital increase. He also said the company would think about dividends in a couple of years.

The transaction comes on the heels of flotations of Poland's PGE and Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd and coincides with French retail group PPR's 806 million euro listing of its African distribution unit CFAO, which opened up 2.1 percent in Paris on its first trading day.

(Editing by John Stonestreet)