Nasdaq-listed gaming operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd has been dropped from the Nasdaq Q-50 Index. The announcement was made on Monday by exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc, as part of its quarterly re-ranking of the index.
The change will become effective prior to market open on December 22.
The price of Melco Crown shares on Nasdaq has dropped by over 40 percent since the beginning of 2014, fuelled by the sluggish performance of the casino industry in Macau over the past six months. The company is also listed in Hong Kong.
In Macau, the firm is expanding the City of Dreams casino resort (pictured) in Cotai and building Studio City, due to open in mid-2015. Melco Crown is also a partner in City of Dreams Manila, a project that had a soft opening on Sunday.
The Nasdaq Q-50 Index is a market-capitalisation weighted index designed to track the performance of companies that are next-eligible for inclusion into the Nasdaq-100 Index.
The index is comprised of 50 securities ranked by market capitalisation and features companies across major industry groups. It does not contain securities of financial companies including investment companies.
The Nasdaq Q-50’s average market cap is US$8.50 billion, which is significantly smaller than Nasdaq-100’s US$40.92 billion.
