The International Securities Exchange (ISE) launches options trading on the NASDAQ Q-50 IndexSM, a benchmark that tracks the 50 non-financial securities that next qualify for inclusion in the NASDAQ-100 Index.
Options trading on the NASDAQ Q-50 Index began trading on ISE on 23 December 2008. Timber Hill LLC serves as the Primary Market Maker for this new product. The NASDAQ-100 Index comprises the 100 large domestic and international non-financial securities listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market based on market capitalization. NASDAQ Q-50 does not contain securities of financial companies including banking and investment companies, as these are ineligible for NASDAQ-100 Index inclusion.
“We are excited to partner with NASDAQ to provide investors with the ability to trade options on a diverse basket of the fastest growing non-financial companies listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market,” says Kris Monaco, director of New Product Development, ISE. “This new product will allow ISE’s customers to trade their views on some of the most closely watched securities listed on NASDAQ’s marketplace.”
“Our partnership with ISE will give investors who use the NASDAQ Q-50 Index in their portfolios the additional flexibility of incorporating options into their trading strategies,” says John Jacobs, executive vice president, NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group. “We are very pleased to work with ISE to expand the reach of our proprietary index products.”
L.D.