Barclays Global Investors Transferred the Listing to NASDAQ

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that the iShares(r) Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund (Nasdaq:IBB) began trading today on The NASDAQ Stock Market(r) (NASDAQ(r)). Barclays Global Investors (BGI), one of the world's largest institutional asset managers and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) managers, transferred the fund to NASDAQ from the American Stock Exchange.

"We are delighted with BGI's decision to list the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund on NASDAQ," said John Jacobs, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX Global Financial Products. "NASDAQ is the natural venue for the fund and we are thrilled it is now listed alongside the companies that comprise the index upon which the fund is based, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index."

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of companies primarily engaged in the biotechnology industry, as represented by the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index contains securities of NASDAQ-listed companies classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either Biotechnology or Pharmaceuticals which also meet other eligibility criteria. The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is calculated under a modified capitalization-weighted methodology.

NASDAQ is the most liquid U.S. market for ETFs, capturing 36.9% of all U.S. ETF volume in August. Average daily matched share volume in August was a record 458 million, more than any other U.S. exchange.

Through NASDAQ OMX Global Financial Products (GFP), NASDAQ OMX(sm) is engaged in the design, development, calculation, dissemination, licensing, and marketing of NASDAQ OMX indexes. GFP specializes in the development of indexes focusing on NASDAQ OMX's brand themes of innovation, technology, growth, and globalization. NASDAQ OMX indexes are the basis of 24 ETFs worldwide with $24.5 billion under management. The NASDAQ-100 Index(r) alone is the basis of more than 600 investment products in more than 30 countries. For more information about NASDAQ OMX indexes, visit www.nasdaq.com/indexes.

For more information about the NASDAQ ETF Market, please contact Richard Keary, NASDAQ New Listings, at +212.401.8903 or richard.keary@nasdaqomx.com or NASDAQ Market Sales at 800.846.0047 or Sales@NASDAQOMX.com.

For more information about the The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund, please visit http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/IBB.htm?qt=IBB.

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The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company.