According to a new report from Ernst & Young LLP, the U.S. initial public offering market is on hold, as firms wait for markets to pick up.

“Potential IPO registrants are waiting for increased clarity and hoping for market momentum to carry them forward,” it notes. The firm reports that in the first quarter, there were 90 IPOs in the US pipeline, the same number of deals as in the fourth quarter of 2007. These registrations represent US$17.3 billion, up slightly from the US$16.8 billion of last quarter.

The number of new registrants remained stable, with 23 filing to go public in Q1 2008, compared to 24 in Q4 2007. But those registrations are slowing, from 10 in January to just six in February and seven in March.

“Most market observers talk of waiting for a positive second half of the year, but to keep its pace of new registrants without starting a trend of withdrawals, the markets need to pick up during the second quarter,” said Maria Pinelli, Americas director, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young LLP. “Patience and confidence are likely to ebb by June, but if you’re a good company with solid business plans, practices and proven results, opportunities still await you in the markets.”

IPOs are also lingering for longer in the deal pipeline. Ernst & Young reports that in Q1 of 2007, companies sat for an average of 113 days compared to 163 days for Q1 2008.

The three most active sectors in the Q1 pipeline were technology, biotech, and pharmaceuticals. “Technology also continues to attract our foreign issuers, with four out of the five non-US pipeline registrations coming from technology or biotech. Pharmaceuticals are slightly more active than in Q4, but the oil and gas sector pipeline dove more than 60% from Q4’s total dollars,” said Jackie Brya, Americas IPO leader.