NASDAQ Announces Component Changes To Biotechnology Index

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. today announced that effective with the market open on Tuesday, January 23, the components of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index® (Nasdaq: IXBT) will change. A capitalization-weighted index representing the largest and most actively traded Nasdaq® biotechnology stocks, the Nasdaq Biotech Index includes companies primarily engaged in using biomedical research for the discovery or development of novel treatments and cures for human disease. All securities in the Index must be listed on the Nasdaq National Market® and meet minimum requirements for price, market value, average daily share volume and seasoning as a public company. In the future, the components will be reviewed semiannually and changes in the Index will be effective after the close of trading on the third Friday in May and November.

Nasdaq is undertaking these changes to support a variety of new financial products. Barclays Global Investors plans to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) called the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund on February 2, 2001.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, launched in November 1993, rose 23 percent in 2000, although past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. For more information about the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, including eligibility criteria, visit: www.nasdaq.com.

The Nasdaq Stock Market® lists nearly 5,000 companies, has the largest dollar volume of trades of any financial market, and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. Current market capitalization is $3.6 trillion. Nasdaq is a subsidiary of the NASD, the largest securities-industry, self-regulatory organization in the United States. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews.com.