NASDAQ

NASDAQ, aslinya sebuah singkatan untuk National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, adalah sebuah bursa saham yang dioperasikan oleh National Association of Securities Dealers. Ketika memulai perdagangan pada 8 Februari 1971, NASDAQ merupakan bursa saham elektronik pertama di dunia.

Sejak 1999, ia adalah bursa saham terbesar di Amerika Serikat dengan lebih dari setengah jumlah perusahaan yang diperdagangkan di AS dicatat di sini. NASDAQ terdiri dari NASDAQ National Market dan NASDAQ SmallCap Market. Bursa utamanya terletak di Amerika Serikat, dengan cabang di Kanada dan Jepang. NASDAQ juga mempunyai asosiasi dengan bursa saham di Hong Kong dan Eropa.

Pada 17 Juli 1995 NASDAQ ditutup pada level di atas 1.000 poin untuk pertama kalinya. Puncaknya terjadi pada 10 Maret 2000, di mana indeks mencapai 5048,62 poin.

NASDAQ ditutup dari 11 hingga 14 September 2001 akibat terjadinya Serangan Teroris 11 September 2001.

The NASDAQ Stock Market, known as NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations," but the exchange's official stance is that the acronym is obsolete.[1] It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States. With approximately 3,700 companies and corporations, it has more trading volume than any other stock exchange in the world.[2]

History

It was founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD),. who divested themselves of it in a series of sales in 2000 and 2001. It is owned and operated by the NASDAQ OMX Group, the stock of which was listed on its own stock exchange beginning July 2, 2002, under the ticker symbol NASDAQ: NDAQ. It is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

With the completed purchase of the Nordic-based operated exchange OMX, following its agreement with Borse Dubai, NASDAQ is poised to capture 67% of the controlling stake in the aforementioned exchange, thereby inching ever closer to taking over the company and creating a trans-atlantic powerhouse. The group, now known as Nasdaq-OMX, controls and operates the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York City – the second largest exchange in the United States. It also operates eight stock exchanges in Europe and holds one-third of the Dubai Stock Exchange. It has a double-listing agreement with OMX, and will compete with NYSE Euronext group in attracting new listings.

When the NASDAQ stock exchange began trading on February 8, 1971, the NASDAQ was the world's first electronic stock market. At first, it was merely a computer bulletin board system and did not actually connect buyers and sellers. The NASDAQ helped lower the spread (the difference between the bid price and the ask price of the stock) but somewhat paradoxically was unpopular among brokerages because they made much of their money on the spread.

NASDAQ was the successor to the over-the-counter (OTC) and the "Curb Exchange" systems of trading. As late as 1987, the NASDAQ exchange was still commonly referred to as the OTC in media and also in the monthly Stock Guides issued by Standard & Poor's Corporation.

Over the years, NASDAQ became more of a stock market by adding trade and volume reporting and automated trading systems. NASDAQ was also the first stock market in the United States to advertise to the general public, highlighting NASDAQ-traded companies (usually in technology) and closing with the declaration that NASDAQ is "the stock market for the next hundred years." Its main index is the NASDAQ Composite, which has been published since its inception. However, its exchange-traded fund tracks the large-cap NASDAQ-100 index, which was introduced in 1985 alongside the NASDAQ 100 Financial Index.

Until 1987, most trading occurred via the telephone, but during the October 1987 stock market crash, market makers often didn't answer their phones. To counteract this, the Small Order Execution System (SOES) was established, which provides an electronic method for dealers to enter their trades. NASDAQ requires market makers to honor trades over SOES.

In 1992, it joined with the London Stock Exchange to form the first intercontinental linkage of securities markets. NASDAQ's 1998 merger with the American Stock Exchange formed the NASDAQ-Amex Market Group, and by the beginning of the 21st century it had become the largest electronic stock market (in terms of both dollar value and share volume) in the United States. NASD spun off NASDAQ in 2000 to form a publicly traded company, the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.

On November 8, 2007, NASDAQ bought the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) for US$652 million. PHLX is the oldest stock exchange in America—having been in operation since 1790.

On May 7, 2010, the NASDAQ officially entered a correction, after falling to 2,265, a 10.45% drop from its recent high of 2,530 which occurred on April 23.

To qualify for listing on the exchange, a company must be registered with the SEC, have at least three market makers (financial firms that act as brokers or dealers for specific securities), and meet minimum requirements for assets, capital, public shares, and shareholders.
[edit] Quote availability

NASDAQ quotes are available at three levels:

* Level 1 shows the highest bid and lowest offer — the inside quote.
* Level 2 shows all public quotes of market makers together with information of market makers wishing to sell or buy stock and recently executed orders.[3]
* Level 3 is used by the market makers and allows them to enter their quotes and execute orders.

[edit] Trading schedule

NASDAQ has a pre-market session from 7:00am to 9:30am, a normal trading session from 9:30am to 4:00pm and a post-market session from 4:00pm to 8:00pm (all times in EST)

NASDAQ-100
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The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ. It is a modified market value-weighted index. The companies' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components. It does not contain financial companies, and includes companies incorporated outside the United States. Both of those factors differentiate it from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the exclusion of financial companies distinguishes it from the S&P 500 Index.

History

The NASDAQ-100 began on January 31, 1985 by the NASDAQ, trying to promote itself in the shadow of the New York Stock Exchange. It did so by creating two separate indices. This particular index, which consists of Industrial, Technology, Retail, Telecommunication, Biotechnology, Health Care, Transportation, Media and Service companies; and the NASDAQ Financial-100, which consists of banking companies, insurance firms, brokerage houses and mortgage companies. By creating these two indices, the NASDAQ hoped that mutual funds, options and futures would correlate and trade in conjunction with them.

The base price of the index was initially set at 250, but when it closed near 800 on December 31, 1993, the base was reset at 125 the following trading day, leaving the halved NASDAQ-100 price below that of the more commonly known NASDAQ Composite. The first annual adjustments were made in 1993 in advance of options on the index that would trade at the Chicago Board Options Exchange in 1994. Foreign companies were first admitted to the index in January 1998, but had higher standards to meet before they could be added. Those standards were relaxed in 2002, while standards for domestic firms were raised, ensuring that all companies met the same standards.

The all-time highs for the index, set at the height of the Dot-Com Bubble in 2000, stand above the 4,700 level, while its recent bear market lows in 2002 revolving around the Early 2000s Recession, the September 11, 2001 Attacks and the subsequent Afghan War occurred below the 900 point level. The NASDAQ-100 closed above the 2,200 point milestone on October 23, 2007 for the first time in over 80 months and reached an intraday high of 2,239.51 on October 31, 2007, the highest reached since February 16, 2001.

However, the index corrected below the 2,000 level in early 2008 amid the Late-2000s Recession, the United States Housing Bubble and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Panic centering around the failure of the investment banking industry culminated in a loss of more than 10% on September 29, 2008, subsequently plunging the index firmly into bear market territory. The NASDAQ-100, with much of the broader market, experienced a Limit Down open on October 24 and closed at a 5 1/2-year low of 1,036.51 on November 20 2008. As of January 2010, the index trades around the 1,860 level amid optimism that the recent financial and economic woes which sprung up during late 2008, were easing and possibly coming to an end.
[edit] Investing

The NASDAQ-100 is often abbreviated as NDX in the Derivatives Markets. Its corresponding futures contracts are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The regular futures are denoted by the Reuters Instrument Code ND, and the smaller E-mini version uses the code NQ. Both are among the most heavily traded futures at the exchange.

The NASDAQ-100 Trust Series 1 Exchange-traded fund, sponsored and overseen since March 21, 2007 by Invesco through PowerShares, trades under the ticker NASDAQ: QQQQ. On December 1, 2004, it was moved from the American Stock Exchange where it had the symbol QQQ to the NASDAQ and given the new four letter code QQQQ. It is sometimes referred to as the "Cubes", "Quad Qs" or simply as "The Qs". In 2000, it was the most actively traded security in the United States, and hit an all-time split adjusted intra-day trading high of $120.50 on March 24 of that year, but has since dropped to being within the top five after other stocks and ETFs such as the Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts. On July 17, 2007, the ETF closed above $50 for the first time since early 2001. After reaching a peak of $55.07 on October 31, 2007, the Qs succumbed to a wider financial crisis along with a decline in technology spending and plunged towards a November 21, 2008 intra-day low of $25.05. But as of January 2010, the ETF trades near $46 a share, only down around 6% from its one year intra-day high of $48.57 on August 15, 2008.

ProShares issued by ProFunds offer other related NASDAQ-100 ETFs such as the 2x NYSE: QLD, which attempts to match the daily performance of the NASDAQ-100 by 200% and the Inverse 2x NYSE: QID, which attempts to match the inverse daily performance by 200%. For replicating 3x performance; there is the NASDAQ: TQQQ and for Inverse 3x, NASDAQ: SQQQ. ProFunds also issues Inverse Performance NYSE: PSQ for a bearish strategy on the index.
[edit] Standards

The NASDAQ has over the years put in place a series of stringent standards for which companies must meet before being included in the index. Those standards include the following:

* Being listed exclusively on NASDAQ in either the Global Select or Global Market tiers.
* Being listed for two years (or if it meets certain market capitalization standards, one year).
* Having average daily volume of 200,000 shares.
* Being current in regards to quarterly and annual reports.
* Not being in bankruptcy proceedings.

Additionally, companies with multiple classes of stock are only allowed to have one class included in the index (usually the largest class in terms of market capitalization).
[edit] Yearly rebalancing and re-ranking

While the composition of the NASDAQ-100 changes in the case of delisting (such as transferring to another exchange, merging with another company, or declaring bankruptcy, and in a few cases, being delisted by NASDAQ for failing to meet listing requirements), the index is only rebalanced once a year, in December, when NASDAQ reviews its components, compares them with those not in the index, re-ranks all eligible companies and makes the appropriate adjustments.

There are two tools the NASDAQ uses to determine the market values of companies for the annual review:

* Share Prices as of the last trading day in October (usually the 31st unless the 31st falls on a weekend).
* Publicly announced share totals as of the last trading day of November (usually the 30th unless it falls on a weekend).

Those components that are in the top 100 of all eligible companies at the annual review are retained in the index. Those ranked 101 to 125 are retained only if they were in the top 100 of the previous year's annual review. If they fail to move into the top 100 in the following year's review, they are dropped. Those not ranked in the top 125, are dropped regardless of the previous year's rank.

A company will also be dropped if, at the end of two consecutive months, the component fails to have an index weighting of at least one-tenth of a percent. This can occur at any time.

The companies that are dropped are replaced by those who have the largest market value and are not in the index already. Anticipation of these changes can lead to changes in the stock prices of the affected companies.

All changes, regardless of when they occur, are publicly announced via press releases at least five business days before the change is scheduled to take place. The 2010 results of the re-ranking and rebalancing are expected to be announced on December 10 with the changes effective on December 20.
[edit] Differences from NASDAQ Composite index

The NASDAQ-100 is frequently confused with the Nasdaq Composite Index; the latter index (often referred to simply as "The Nasdaq") includes the stock of every company that is listed on NASDAQ (more than 3,000 all together) and is quoted more frequently than the NASDAQ-100 in popular media.

The NASDAQ-100 is a modified capitalization-weighted average. This particular methodology was created in 1998 in advance of the creation the NASDAQ-100 Index Trust, which holds portions of all NASDAQ-100 firms. The new methodology allowed NASDAQ to reduce the influence of the largest companies and to allow for more diversification.

The only time the index is to be rebalanced again is if:

* One company is worth 24% of the index.
* Those companies with a weighting of at least 4.5%, constitute 48% of the index.

[edit] Differences from other indices

In addition to its lack of financial companies, the Nasdaq-100 includes 15 companies incorporated outside the United States. Although the S&P 500 Index includes 5 non-U.S. companies, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has never included foreign companies. The NASDAQ-100 is also the only index of the three that has a regularly-scheduled re-ranking of its index each year.

As of December 2009, the countries (excluding the United States) represented in the NASDAQ-100 are:

* Bermuda - Marvell Technology Group
* Canada - Research In Motion
* Cayman Islands - Garmin Ltd. and Seagate Technology
* China - Baidu
* India - Infosys
* Ireland - Warner Chilcott
* Israel - Check Point and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.
* Luxembourg - Millicom International Cellular
* Netherlands - Qiagen
* Singapore - Flextronics
* Switzerland - Foster Wheeler and Logitech
* United Kingdom - Vodafone

[edit] Components

This list is current as of December 21, 2009. An up-to-date list is available in the External Links section. It should be noted that this is an alphabetical list, and not a ranked list

1. Activision Blizzard (ATVI)
2. Adobe Systems Incorporated (ADBE)
3. Altera Corporation (ALTR)
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)
5. Amgen Inc. (AMGN)
6. Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL)
7. Apple Inc. (AAPL)
8. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)
9. Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK)
10. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP)
11. Baidu.com, Inc. (BIDU)
12. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY)
13. Biogen Idec, Inc (BIIB)
14. BMC Software, Inc. (BMC)
15. Broadcom Corporation (BRCM)
16. C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW)
17. CA, Inc. (CA)
18. Celgene Corporation (CELG)
19. Cephalon, Inc. (CEPH)
20. Cerner Corporation (CERN)
21. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP)
22. Cintas Corporation (CTAS)
23. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO)
24. Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS)
25. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH)
26. Comcast Corporation (CMCSA)
27. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)
28. Dell Inc. (DELL)
29. DENTSPLY International Inc. (XRAY)
30. DirecTV (DTV)
31. DISH Network Corporation (DISH)
32. eBay Inc. (EBAY)
33. Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS)
34. Expedia, Inc. (EXPE)
35. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD)
36. Express Scripts, Inc. (ESRX)
37. Fastenal Company (FAST)
38. First Solar, Inc. (FSLR)
39. Fiserv, Inc. (FISV)
40. Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX)
41. FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR)
42. Foster Wheeler Corporation (FWLT)
43. Garmin Ltd. (GRMN)
44. Genzyme Corporation (GENZ)
45. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)
46. Google Inc. (GOOG)
47. Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC)
48. Hologic, Inc. (HOLX)
49. Illumina, Inc. (ILMN)
50. Infosys Technologies (INFY)
51. Intel Corporation (INTC)
52. Intuit, Inc. (INTU)
53. Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG)
54. J. B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT)
55. Joy Global Inc. (JOYG)
56. KLA Tencor Corporation (KLAC)
57. Lam Research Corporation (LRCX)
58. Liberty Media Corporation, Interactive Series A (LINTA)
59. Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE)
60. Linear Technology Corporation (LLTC)
61. Logitech International, SA (LOGI)
62. Marvell Technology Group, Ltd. (MRVL)
63. Mattel, Inc. (MAT)
64. Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM)
65. Microchip Technology Incorporated (MCHP)
66. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
67. Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MICC)
68. Mylan, Inc. (MYL)
69. NetApp, Inc. (NTAP)
70. News Corporation, Ltd. (NWSA)
71. NII Holdings, Inc. (NIHD)
72. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)
73. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY)
74. Oracle Corporation (ORCL)
75. PACCAR Inc. (PCAR)
76. Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO)
77. Paychex, Inc. (PAYX)
78. Priceline.com, Incorporated (PCLN)
79. Qiagen N.V. (QGEN)
80. QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM)
81. Research in Motion Limited (RIMM)
82. Ross Stores Inc. (ROST)
83. SanDisk Corporation (SNDK)
84. Seagate Technology Holdings (STX)
85. Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD)
86. Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (SIAL)
87. Staples Inc. (SPLS)
88. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)
89. Stericycle, Inc (SRCL)
90. Symantec Corporation (SYMC)
91. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA)
92. Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN)
93. VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN)
94. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)
95. Virgin Media, Inc. (VMED)
96. Vodafone Group, plc. (VOD)
97. Warner Chilcott, Ltd. (WCRX)
98. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN)
99. Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX)
100. Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)

[edit] Changes in 2009

On January 20, News Corporation was added to the index, replacing Focus Media Holding.

On July 17, Cerner Corporation replaced Sun Microsystems in the index. Sun Microsystems is being acquired by Oracle, forcing the change.

On October 29, Priceline.com replaced Juniper Networks, after Juniper transferred to the NYSE.

On December 11, the NASDAQ announced the annual re-ranking of the index, resulting in 7 new stocks joining the index: Vodafone, Mattel, BMC Software, Mylan, Qiagen, SanDisk and Virgin Media.

These stocks replaced Akamai Technologies, Hansen Natural, IAC/InterActiveCorp, Liberty Global, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Ryanair and Steel Dynamics on December 21.

NASDAQ Biotechnology Index
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The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index includes securities of NASDAQ-listed companies classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either Biotechnology or Pharmaceuticals.
[edit] Criteria

In order to remain included within the index, the components must meet the following criteria:
- The security U.S. listing must be exclusively on the NASDAQ National Market (unless the security was dually listed on another U.S. market prior to January 1, 2004 and has continuously maintained such listing).
- The issuer of the security must be classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either Biotechnology or Pharmaceuticals.
- The security may not be issued by an issuer currently in bankruptcy proceedings.
- The security must have a market capitalization of at least $200 million.
- The security must have an average daily trading volume of at least 100,000 shares.
- The issuer of the security may not have entered into a definitive agreement or other arrangement which would likely result in the security no longer being Index.
- The issuer of the security may not have annual financial statements with an audit opinion that is currently withdrawn.
- The issuer of the security must have "seasoned" on NASDAQ or another recognized market for at least 6 months; in the case of spin-offs, the operating history of the spin-off will be considered.
[edit] Components

This list is current as of October 29, 2009. An up-to-date list is available in the External Links section.

* Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR)
* Adolor Corporation (NASDAQ: ADLR)
* Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX)
* Akorn Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX)
* Albany Molecular Research Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRI)
* Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN)
* Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA)
* Alkermes Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS)
* Allos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTH)
* Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY)
* AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAG)
* Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN)
* Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN)
* Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA)
* ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA)
* ArQule Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL)
* Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY)
* Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUXL)
* BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX)
* Biodel Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOD)
* Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB)
* BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN)
* BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI)
* BMP Sunstone Corporation (NASDAQ: BJGP)
* Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX)
* Cardiome Pharma Corporation (NASDAQ: CRME)
* Celera Corporation (NASDAQ: CRA)
* Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG)
* Cephalon Inc. (NASDAQ: CEPH)
* Columbia Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRX)
* Crucell NV (NASDAQ: CRXL)
* Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST)
* Cypress Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ: CYPB)
* Cytokinetics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CYTK)
* Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN)
* DepoMed Inc. (NASDAQ: DEPO)
* Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO)
* Durect Corporation (NASDAQ: DRRX)
* Dyax Corporation (NASDAQ: DYAX)
* Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP)
* Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ENZN)
* Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL)
* Facet Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: FACT)
* Flamel Technologies S.A. (NASDAQ: FLML)
* Gen-Probe Incorporated (NASDAQ: GPRO)
* Genomic Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GHDX)
* Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ)
* Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN)
* Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD)
* GTx Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI)
* Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO)
* Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI)
* Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX)
* Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN)
* ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN)
* Immunomedics Inc. (NASDAQ: IMMU)
* Impax Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: IPXL)
* Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY)
* Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ISPH)
* InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN)
* Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIS)
* Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX)
* Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE)
* Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND)
* Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX)
* MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD)
* Matrixx Initiatives Inc. (NASDAQ: MTXX)
* Maxygen Inc. (NASDAQ: MAXY)
* Medivation Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN)
* Micromet Inc. (NASDAQ: MITI)
* MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MBRK)
* Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA)
* Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL)
* Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN)
* Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NABI)
* Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR)
* Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX)
* Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX)
* NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: NPSP)
* Obagi Medical Products Inc. (NASDAQ: OMPI)
* ONYX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX)
* Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTR)
* Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX)
* OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP)
* Osiris Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR)
* Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTIE)
* PDL BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: PDLI)
* Perrigo Company (NASDAQ: PRGO)
* Pharmasset Inc. (NASDAQ: VRUS)
* Pozen Inc. (NASDAQ: POZN)
* Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PGNX)
* Qiagen N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN)
* QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI)
* Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR)
* Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN)
* Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL)
* Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP)
* Sangamo BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO)
* Santarus Inc. (NASDAQ: SNTS)
* Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: SVNT)
* Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN)
* Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM)
* Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY)
* StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM)
* SuperGen Inc. (NASDAQ: SUPG)
* Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA)
* Targacept Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT)
* Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH)
* Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA)
* The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO)
* Theravance Inc. (NASDAQ: THRX)
* United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR)
* Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA)
* Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX)
* Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ: VICL)
* ViroPharma Incorporated (NASDAQ: VPHM)
* VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS)
* Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX)
* XenoPort Inc. (NASDAQ: XNPT)
* XOMA Ltd. (NASDAQ: XOMA)
* ZymoGenetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGEN)


Nasdaq Composite
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The Nasdaq Composite is a stock market index of all of the common stocks and similar securities (e.g. ADRs, tracking stocks, limited partnership interests) listed on the NASDAQ stock market, meaning that it has over 3,000 components. It is highly followed in the U.S. as an indicator of the performance of stocks of technology companies and growth companies. Since both U.S. and non-U.S. companies are listed on the NASDAQ stock market, the index is not exclusively a U.S. index.

History
The NASDAQ Composite from 1971 until April, 2007

* The origins of the NASDAQ began in 1961, when Congress authorized the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a study of fragmentation in the over-the-counter market. The SEC proposed automation as a possible solution, and entrusted the National Association of Securities Dealers, with its execution.
* Launched on February 5, 1971 with a base value of 100 points, the NASDAQ Composite (which was the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is a broad based index which is calculated under a market capitalization weighted methodology that began trading with median quotes for 2,500 over-the-counter securities. As of 2009, the index has grown to include over 3,000 companies.
* On July 17, 1995, the index closed above the 1,000 mark for the first time. The all-time low for the index had been reached in October 1974 around 54 points, representing a market drop of more than 45% from the time of its introduction. The decline in the index surrounded the overall negative mood revolving around the 1973-1974 Stock Market Crash along with it being aggravated by the Yom Kippur War and the 1973 Oil Crisis which followed it soon after.
* On March 10, 2000, the index peaked at an intra-day high of 5,132.52, and closed at an all-time high of 5,048.62; the decline from this peak signaled the beginning of the end of the dot-com bubble.[citation needed]
* The index declined to half its value within a year, and finally found a bear market bottom on October 10, 2002 with an intra-day low of 1,108.49 after a close of 1,114 the previous day. While the index gradually recovered since then, it did not trade for more than half of its peak value until May 2007.
* The 2000s brought a mix of pessimistic news stemming from the Early 2000s recession, the September 11 attacks and the impending Afghan War along with the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
* The index opened the fourth quarter of 2007 with new 80-month highs, fueled by future possible takeovers and mergers, healthy earnings reports particularly in the tech sector, and moderate inflationary readings; closing above the 2,800 point mark on October 9, 2007. The intraday level of 2,861.51 on October 31, 2007 was the highest point reached on the index since January 24, 2001.
* While increased anxiety over high energy prices and the possibility of recession dropped the NASDAQ well into correction territory in early 2008, a bear market was finally recognized on February 6 when the NASDAQ closed below the 2,300 level, about 20% below the recent highs.
* On September 29, 2008, the NASDAQ dropped nearly 200 points, the most since the tech bubble burst, losing 9.14% (third largest in history) to fall beneath the 2,000 level.
* On October 13, 2008, the NASDAQ recorded a gain of nearly 200 points (more than 11%), continuing record levels of market volatility.
* Extending a two-month slide, the index recorded fresh 5 1/2-year lows on November 20, 2008, closing at 1,316.12 near its intraday low, almost 55% below its cyclical bull market peak.
* On March 9, 2009, the composite hit an intra-day low of 1,265.52 extending losses surrounding the financial crisis which began in late 2008.
* Towards the beginning of January 2010, the composite made a staggering 79% rebound from its March lows towards the 2,269 level, amid hope that the Late-2000s Recession, the United States housing bubble and the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009 were easing and possibly coming to an end. However it still ended the decade considerably below where it started the decade.

[edit] Criteria

To be eligible for inclusion in the Composite, a security's U.S. listing must be exclusively on the NASDAQ Stock Market (unless the security was dually listed on another U.S. market prior to 2004 and has continuously maintained such listing), and have a security type of either:
- American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)
- Common Stock
- Limited Partnership Interests
- Ordinary Shares
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
- Shares of Beneficial Interest (SBIs)
- Tracking Stocks

Closed-end funds, convertible debentures, exchange traded funds, preferred stocks, rights, warrants, units and other derivative securities are not included. If at any time a component security no longer meets the above criteria, the security becomes ineligible for inclusion in the Composite Index and is removed.
[edit] Investing

Investing in the NASDAQ Composite Index is currently made accessible through an exchange-traded fund issued by fund manager Fidelity Investments. Introduced on October 1, 2003, the ETF (NASDAQ: ONEQ) attempts to match the overall performance of the index. It is not nearly as popular as the "cubes" (NASDAQ: QQQQ) which track the NASDAQ-100.

NASDAQ Capital Market
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Originally called the NASDAQ Small Cap Market, NASDAQ announced a name change to the NASDAQ Capital Market on September 27, 2005.[1]

The NASDAQ Capital Market exists for securities of smaller, less-capitalized companies (small caps) that do not qualify for inclusion in the Nasdaq National Market.

ACT (NASDAQ)
ACT, or Automated Confirmation of Transactions, is system for reporting and clearing trades in the over-the-counter (OTC) and NASDAQ markets. In contrast to Qualified Special Representative (QSR) clearing via National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), which requires multiple relationships between brokers, dealers, clearing firms, ACT facilitates the simplifies the process of clearing by providing a single counterparty to interact with.

ACT offers a risk management system that allows clearing firms to monitor the activity of their clients. This tool is unique within the clearing business.

FINRA also refers to ACT as the Trade Reporting Facility (TRF).

NASDAQ futures
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NASDAQ futures are investment instruments which allow an investor to hedge with or speculate on the future value of various components of the NASDAQ market index.

In General

Several futures instruments are derived from the NASDAQ Composite Index: the E-mini NASDAQ Composite futures, the E-mini NASDAQ Biology futures, the NASDAQ-100 futures, and the e-mini NASDAQ-100 futures.

The NASDAQ is the largest electronically traded stock exchange in the world.[1] The NASDAQ Composite is a composite index of all securities traded on the NASDAQ exchange which has been continuously calculated since 1971.[2] Futures contracts oblige the parties to buy and sell the derivative at a predetermined price at a predetermined time.[3]

Futures contracts are beneficial to investors because of the leverage involved. While 100% of the cost is required to purchase stocks and their indexes (without borrowing on margin), only a fraction of five to fifteen percent the value of a futures contract is required to be deposited to gain control of the futures contract (called a performance bond).[4] Therefore, increases and decreases in the value of the futures contracts are a much greater percentage of the capital required to control futures than stocks either bought outright or on margin. Risk of loss and potential for profit are equally amplified through this leveraging.
[edit] NASDAQ Derived Futures

All of the NASDAQ derived future contracts are a a product of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).[5] They expire quarterly (March, June, September, and December), and are traded on the CME Globex exchange nearly 24 hours a day, from Sunday afternoon to Friday afternoon.[5]

E-Mini NASDAQ futures (ticker: QCN) contract's minimum tick is .50 index points = $10.00[5] While the performance bond requirements vary from broker to broker, the CME requires $4,000, and continuing equity of $3,200 to maintain the position.[6]

E-MINI NASAQ Biotechnology futures (ticker: BIO) contract's minimum tick is .10 index points = $5.00[7] While the performance bond requirements vary from broker to broker, the CME requires $3,750, and continuing equity of $3000 to maintain the position.[6]

NASDAQ-100 futures (ticker: ND) contract's minimum tick is .25 index points = $25.00[8] While the performance bond requirements vary from broker to broker, the CME requires $17,500, and continuing equity of $14,000 to maintain the position.[6]

E-Mini NASDAQ-100 futures (ticker: NQ) contract's minimum tick is .25 index points = $5.00[9] While the performance bond requirements vary from broker to broker, the CME requires $3,500, and continuing equity of $2,800 to maintain the position.[6]
[edit] Trading Strategies

Futures contracts are commonly used for hedge or speculative financial goals. Futures contracts are used to hedge, or offset investment risk by commodity owners (i.e., farmers), or portfolios with undesirable risk exposure offset by the futures position.[10]

Futures are also widely used to speculate trading profits. Futures trading is skyrocketing - CME's e-mini contracts averaged 3.5 million contracts a day in 2008, a 37 percent yearly increase in volume, while equity volume increased only 2 percent for the same period of time.[11] However studies reveal that hedging strategies still dominate speculation trade activity in every futures market studied.[12]

Investment in Trading algorithms research (a mathematical rule set for futures trading entry, exit, and stop loss points often calculated and executed by computer) is phenomenal. Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs devotes more of its resources, tens of millions annually, to developing trading algorithms than it does on trade desk staffing.[13] Trading algorithms may be as exotic as biology theorems like neutral network applied to financial market trading by Gang Dong of Rutgers University,[14] or completely based on current market time/price analysis.
[edit] U.S. Tax Advantages

In the United States broad-based index futures receive special tax treatment under the IRS 60/40 rule.[15] Stocks held longer than one year qualify for favorable capital gains tax treatment, while stocks held one year or less are taxed at ordinary income.[16] However proceeds from index futures contracts traded in the short term are taxed 60 percent at the favorable capital gains rate, and only 40 percent as ordinary income.[17]


NASDAQ MarketSite (or simply MarketSite) is the physical presence of the NASDAQ stock market. Located in Times Square in New York City, it occupies the North West corner of the bottom of the Condé Nast Building, located at 4 Times Square. The exterior wall of the seven story cylindrical tower is an LED electronic video display that provides market quotes, financial news and advertisements.

The ground floor of the glass-walled MarketSite contains a television studio. A wall of rear-projection monitors 44 feet (17 m) long by 14 feet (4 m) high display market conditions in real-time, providing reporters from MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News Channel, Bloomberg Television, BBC, and other financial television networks a backdrop to present their reports. BusinessWeek's weekly syndicated newsmagazine also comes from the MarketSite.

The technologies and processes used in the original Nasdaq MarketSite are protected under United States Patent 7,082,398 issued July 25, 2006. Inventors were: Thomas Apple (Arlington, Virginia), Paul Noble (Short Hills, New Jersey), John Footen (Mount Arlington, New Jersey); Gary Baren (Warren, New Jersey); and Andrew Klein (Brookline, Massachusetts). The initial installation of the MarketSite was in the former Whitehall street location of Nasdaq. The current Times Square system and process have been upgraded and changed several times but remain protected by the broad claims and novel uses outlined in the original patent.

The current MarketSite facility utilizes a complex system of videowall processors and data feeds to provide broadcasters with a dynamic real-time data background. This system shares nothing with the original Whitehall street iteration of the MarketSite, having been upgraded and redesigned several times due to advances in technology.


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