Get excited, options lovers -- the International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has started trading options on the Nasdaq Q-50 Index (NXTQ: sentiment, chart, options). This benchmark was started in October 2007, and tracks the 50 stocks that are next in line to be included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX).

"We are excited to partner with Nasdaq to provide investors with the ability to trade options on a diverse basket of the fastest growing non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market," said Kris Monaco, Director of New Product Development at ISE.

So, which securities are included in the NXTQ? No financial names are included in this index, since banking and investment firms are ineligible for inclusion in the NDX. However, the NXTQ does include such familiar names as priceline.com (PCLN), Dollar Tree (DLTR), SanDisk Corporation (SNDK), and United Therapeutics (UTHR). Click here to see a full roster of the NXTQ components.

In afternoon trading, the NXTQ is off 2% at $88.65. Today's drop seems sparked primarily by broad-market weakness, since the index has rallied 37.4% from its Nov. 21 low along support from its 10-day and 20-day moving averages.