By Wailin Wong
| The Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. launched Monday a new stock index that tracks
companies involved in the smartphone industry.

Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. is one of the 84 companies represented on
the Smartphone Index, which was created in conjunction with the
Consumer Electronics Association. The list spans companies specializing
in hardware, software and mobile networks. In addition to Motorola, the
index also includes technology bellwethers such as Apple, Nokia and
AT&T.

“Investors, thanks to this index, can now easily track companies that are working diligently to combine the benefits of the phone and computer in a single device,” John Jacobs, executive vice president of Nasdaq, said in a statement.

The index started trading on Monday at $250 and closed up 0.8 percent at $252.09. The broader Nasdaq ended the day 0.2 percent higher at 2,457.87 points. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial average finished above 11,000 for the first time in a year and a half.