STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 10, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NASDAQ OMX Nordic, part of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ), today announced it will launch a new portfolio of Norwegian derivatives products available for trading on September 14. At launch, the offering will include 15 Norwegian single-stock derivatives, as well as contracts based on a new NASDAQ OMX index, OMXO20 (OMX Oslo 20) which includes the 20 most traded shares on Oslo Boers.
Effective as of December 19, Oslo Boers will exit the agreement which currently allows its members access to NASDAQ OMX Nordic derivatives, and equally members of NASDAQ OMX Nordic access to Oslo Boers-listed derivatives. NASDAQ OMX's new Norwegian derivatives portfolio enables its existing members to continue trading in Norwegian derivatives via one pan-Nordic trading platform.
Hans-Ole Jochumsen, President NASDAQ OMX Nordic, said, "Our Norwegian derivatives offering is in response to customer demand and part of our strategy to continually improve our Nordic offering. Earlier this year we launched trading in Norwegian equities, and it made sense to expand our offering with Norwegian derivatives. The contracts will be traded on the same liquid market as other prominent Nordic derivatives, including OMXS30 which today is one of the most traded indexes in Europe."
Magdalena Hartman, Vice President NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group, commented, "Our development of the OMX Oslo 20 index matches investor demand and it is an excellent complement to our global index portfolio. The index allows investors to efficiently track the performance of the Norwegian market at low transaction costs."
The new OMXO20 index is composed of the 20 most traded stocks on Oslo Boers and dates back to January 2007. Calculation of the OMXO20 will begin on September 1. The index is designed to track the Norwegian stock market and act as an underlying for options and futures. OMXO20 is re-ranked semi-annually in January and July. The OMXO20 constituents effective September 1st are:
Acergy Petroleum Geo-Services Aker Solutions Royal Caribbean Cruises DnB NOR Renewable Energy Corporation DNO International Seadrill Fred. Olsen Energy Storebrand Frontline StatoilHydro Golden Ocean Group Subsea 7 Marine Harvest Tandberg Norsk Hydro Telenor Orkla Yara International
About NASDAQ OMX Index Products
NASDAQ OMX is a global leader in creating and licensing strategy indexes and is home to the most widely watched indexes in the world. As a premier, full-service provider, NASDAQ OMX is dedicated to designing powerful indexes that are in sync with a continually changing market environment. Utilizing the expanded coverage of our global company, NASDAQ OMX has nearly 1,500 diverse equity, commodity and fixed-income indexes in the U.S., Europe, and throughout world. In addition, our calculation, licensing and marketing support provide the tools to measure and replicate global markets. The NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group range of services covers the entire business process from index design to calculation and dissemination. For more information about NASDAQ OMX indexes, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/ .
About NASDAQ OMX
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with over 3,700 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.
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