CORRECT: BlackRock To Join S&P 500 Index, Replacing Genzyme

("BlackRock To Join S&P 500 Index, Replacing Genzyme," at 5:53 p.m. EDT, misstated BlackRock stock's price and percentage change over the last year in the second paragraph. The correct version follows:)

 
  DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is slated to replace Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) in the S&P 500 index as the biotechnology company is set to be acquired, Standard & Poor's said Tuesday.

Shares of BlackRock, the world's biggest money manager, rose 4.5%, to $195.00 after hours. As of the close, the stock had fallen 15% in the past year.

Shares of companies joining the S&P 500 often rise because many portfolio managers try to track the index. To do that, they must buy shares of the companies that become part of it.

The shift in the index is scheduled to occur after the close of trading on Friday. Genzyme is slated to be bought by Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) for $20.1 billion plus a contingent value right.

BlackRock in January reported its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled thanks largely to improving equity markets and higher performance fees.

-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; [e-mail]