Confidence is spreading through the capital markets, with the Nasdaq up a whopping 54 percent in the past 12 months. And that surging stock market also appears to be good news for emerging companies that want to go public, with PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasting this week the IPO market will continue to show strength throughout 2010. The problem with that positive outlook -- at least for the homers who read TechFlash -- is that the IPO love hasn't hit Seattle companies.

Nationally, the IPO market has continued to gather steam over the past two quarters. During the first quarter, 27 companies priced shares on U.S. stock exchanges. That compares to just two companies which went public during the first quarter of last year, according to PwC.

"A strong first quarter is a promising sign for continuing momentum through 2010, and while some issuers have experienced challenges around pricing and readiness, reasonably priced deals from issuers who prepare diligently have been successful," said Scott Gehsmann, a capital markets partner with PwC's transaction services practice, in a press release.

Of course, there's still a long way to go to reach historical levels. After all, during the first quarter of 2007, 68 companies went public. Nonetheless, the market appears to be headed in the right direction.

Unfortunately, as I noted above, it is still a little sparse when it comes to Washington companies that want to test the IPO waters. In fact, at an industry event this week, I was speaking with a banker who was bemoaning the fact that the Seattle area doesn't have enough mid-tier publicly-traded companies.

And it does look rather barren out there. Consider this: Since mid-January, Renaissance Capital's IPOHome.com has tracked 61 companies that have filed to go public in the U.S. But only one of those companies -- Bellevue-based Motricity (a transplant from North Carolina) -- hails from Washington state.

Furthermore, there's been just one Seattle area tech company in the past three years to actually complete a public offering. Seattle biotech Omeros went public last October, and it hasn't fared so well on the Nasdaq with the stock off nearly 40 percent.

So, with the IPO market improving, one has to ask: Where are the Seattle IPO candidates?