Nasdaq OMX introduces two Sharia-compliant indices

Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Author: Investment Executive

The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) Tuesday announced the introduction today of two new Sharia-compliant indexes based the Nasdaq-100 Index (Nasdaq:NDX) and the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Index (OMXSB).

The new Nasdaq-100 Sharia Index and the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Sharia Index are the first of a new family of indexes launched by Nasdaq OMX Global Index Group that are designed to serve investors who wish to develop and maintain an Islamic investment portfolio.

The two new indices are designed to track the performance of securities in their underlying indexes that meet the Sharia requirements as prescribed by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and adopted by Nasdaq OMX with the guidance of the Sharia advisor, BMB Islamic UK Ltd.

The Nasdaq-100 Sharia Index is a modified market-capitalization weighted index designed to track the performance of the Sharia-compliant securities of the Nasdaq-100 Index. The Nasdaq-100 Index includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization. The index reflects companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology.

The OMX Stockholm Benchmark Sharia Index is designed to track the performance of the Sharia-compliant securities in the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Index. The OMX Stockholm Benchmark Index consists of the 80 to 100 largest and most traded stocks on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, representing all sectors.

“The Nasdaq-100 Sharia Index and the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Sharia Index were developed to meet increasing demand for a wider variety of Islamic investment opportunities,” says Nasdaq OMX executive vice resident John Jacobs. “These new Sharia-compliant indices are a continuation of Nasdaq OMX’s commitment to designing and calculating world-class indexes and to providing investors with relevant, objective indexes.”

The Nasdaq-100 Sharia Index began calculating on June 22 at a base value of 1000.00, while the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Sharia Index began calculating on May 31 -- also at a base value of 1000.00.