American Stock Exchange to Trade Options on Eight Securities

American Stock Exchange to Trade Options on Eight Securities



NEW YORK, Aug. 31  /PRNewswire/ -- The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R))
will launch trading in options on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 on the following
New York Stock Exchange listed stocks of:

  * The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Class A (Symbol: EL)
  * Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. (Symbol: NAT)
  * Ohio Casualty Corp. (Option Symbol: OHQ/Stock Symbol: OCAS)
  * Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Option Symbol: SQS/Stock Symbol: SAFM)
  * Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
    (Option Symbol: QKU/Stock Symbol: SNDA)
  * II-VI Incorporated (Option Symbol: JIU/Stock Symbol: IIVI)
  * Santarus, Inc. (Option Symbol: JUO/Stock Symbol: SNTS)
  * Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Option Symbol: JUS/Stock Symbol: SGEN)



The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. options will open with position limits of
7,500,000 shares.  The options will trade on the January expiration cycle. The
Specialist will be Fogel Group, LLC.  The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.
manufactures and markets skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products.

Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. options will open with position limits of
2,250,000 shares.  The options will trade on the January expiration cycle.  The
Specialist will be Bowery Specialist Group, LLC.  Nordic American Tanker
Shipping Limited is a shipping company that owns and charters Suezmax tankers
for oil transportation.

Ohio Casualty Corp. options will open with position limits of 3,150,000 shares.
 The options will trade on the February expiration cycle.  The Specialist will
be Stuyvesant Trading Group. Ohio Casualty Corporation is a property and
casualty insurer.  The Company's primary products include insurance for
personal auto, commercial, property, homeowners and workers' compensation.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. options will open with position limits of 2,250,000
shares.  The options will trade on the February expiration cycle.  The
Specialist will be Charlton Specialist Partners, LLC. Sanderson Farms, Inc.
produces, processes, markets and distributes fresh and frozen chicken products.
 The Company also processes, markets and distributes processed and prepared
food items.

Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. will open with position limits of
2,250,000 shares. The options will trade on the March expiration cycle.  The
Specialist will be LaBranche Structured Products, LLC.  Shanda Interactive
Entertainment Ltd. operates online games in China.  The Company offers a
portfolio of online games that users play over the Internet.  Shanda's games
are licensed from third parties as well as developed in-house.

II-VI Incorporated options will open with position limits of 1,350,000 shares.
The options will trade on the January expiration cycle.  The Specialist will be
Tanstaafl Research & Trading, LLC.  II-VI Incorporated designs, manufactures
and markets optical and optoelectronic devices used in laser processing,
fiber-optic telecommunication, infrared missile guidance, advanced x-ray
systems and nuclear radiation detection.

Santarus, Inc. options will open with position limits of 2,250,000 shares. The
options will trade on the January expiration cycle.  The Specialist will be
Group One Trading, L.P.  Santarus, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company focused on
acquiring, developing and commercializing proprietary products for the
prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and disorders.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. options will open with position limits of 2,250,000
shares.  The options will trade on the January expiration cycle.  The
Specialist will be Tanstaafl Research & Trading, LLC. Seattle Genetics, Inc.
discovers and develops monoclonal antibody-based drugs to treat cancer and
related diseases.

The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) is the only primary exchange that
offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded
funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRS(SM). In addition to its
role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF,
responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. Leading
the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 138 ETFs to date. The Amex is also
one of the largest options exchanges in the U.S., trading options on
broad-based and sector indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks. 

DATASOURCE: The American Stock Exchange



CONTACT:  Mary Chung of American Stock Exchange, [phone],





Web site:  http://www.amex.com/ 

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