ISE Initiates Trading In ISE 250 Index

The International Securities Exchange (NYSE:ISE) said
today that it has initiated trading in options on the ISE 250 Index,
its first broad-based proprietary index. The ticker symbol for the ISE
250 Index is IXZ.
   The ISE 250 Index tracks the top 250 US stocks listed on the New
York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market.
The index's components have an adjusted capitalization of about $9
trillion.
   Timber Hill LLC, a unit of Interactive Brokers LLC, will serve as
the index's Primary Market Maker (PMM). The ISE 250 Index will trade
on a March expiration cycle in bin 7. Additional information about the
index, including exercise limits, methodology guides, component lists
and weightings, performance metrics and historical data is available
on ISE's website, www.iseoptions.com.
   "The ISE 250 represents the first of our broad-based index
products, and is another sign of ISE's determination to bring
competition and innovation to index options trading. Investors now
have an efficient and cost-effective choice when they want to trade or
hedge a significant portion of the stock market. We are committed to
bringing the benefits of the ISE way of trading to all areas of the
options market," said Bruce D. Goldberg, ISE's Chief Marketing
Officer.

   ISE Background

   The International Securities Exchange, the world's largest equity
options exchange, was founded on the principle that technology fosters
and infuses new efficiencies and operational innovations into
securities trading. After developing an innovative market structure
that integrated auction market principles into an advanced
screen-based trading system, ISE launched the first fully electronic
US options exchange in May 2000. ISE continually enhances its trading
systems to provide investors with the best marketplace to execute
their options orders.
   For more information about ISE, its products and its technology,
visit www.iseoptions.com.

   Forward Looking Statements

   This press release contains "forward looking statements." These
statements relate to future events or our future financial
performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements, to be materially different from those
contemplated by the forward looking statements. We undertake no
ongoing obligation, other than that imposed by law, to update these
statements. Factors that could affect our results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements and cause them to materially differ from
those contained in the forward looking statements can be found in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
registration statement on Form S-1, current reports on Form 8-K and
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as amended.