Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) started trading on the NYSE

• Hi-Crush Partners IPO rises after price cut
• Producer of sand for hydraulic fracturing gains 18%

Hi-Crush Partners L.P. (HCLP, $20.00, +$3.00, +17.65%) stock gained on its first day as a public company Thursday. The producer of premium monocrystalline sand which is used to improve the recovery of oil and gas during hydraulic fracturing drilling had opened at $17, flat with its initial public offering price.

Its offering is faring better than a similar deal for frac sand producer U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (SLCA, $12.92, +$1.10, +9.31%), which declined nearly 6% on its debut in February and was recently trading below its IPO price of $17 a share.