The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. has introduced the Nasdaq Q-50 index, which tracks the securities that are next eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index. Nasdaq began disseminating the Nasdaq Q-50 index today.

The index is made up of 50 non-financial securities ranked by market capitalization. They reflect companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade, and biotechnology.

“The Nasdaq Q-50 index is a new benchmark for some of the world’s most up-and-coming growth companies,” said Nasdaq senior vp Steven Bloom. “The index arms investors with a portfolio of some of Nasdaq’s fastest growing companies in a diverse range of industries. The launch of the Nasdaq Q-50 index represents a significant extension of Nasdaq’s success in bringing attention to its largest and most liquid innovative growth companies.”

Securities in the Nasdaq Q-50 index are next eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index, a globally recognized benchmark that is the basis of more than 500 investment products in 36 countries. The Nasdaq Q-50 index is a price return index, which is ordinarily calculated without regard to cash dividends on index securities. The index commenced calculation today with a value of 150.00.