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Nasdaq OMX has changed the “seasoning rules” for three of its most popular indexes, including the flagship Nasdaq-100 Index, in a move that may hasten the entry of the social media giant Facebook into the $35 billion PowerShares QQQ Trust (Nasdaq GM: QQQ) following the company’s May IPO.
The new rules, effective April 23, 2012, shorten the period of time companies must be trading on Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange to three months before they are eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX). Previously, companies had to wait one to two years before they were eligible for the index.
However, the timing of Facebook’s addition to the index remains uncertain, as its inclusion will depend on its market value following its IPO. Nonetheless, there is a strong possibility that it could enter the Nasdaq-100 at its next rebalance, which traditionally happens in December.
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