State Street Global Advisors announced its Select Sector SPDR funds...

State Street Global Advisors announced its Select Sector SPDR funds traded an average daily volume of more than 1.2 million shares during their first year of trading. Select Sector SPDRs are exchange-traded funds that ‘‘unbundle’’ the S&P 500 index into nine sector funds comprising shares of S&P 500 companies that can each be bought and sold like shares of stock. SSgA, which advises the funds, collaborated with Merrill Lynch and the American Stock Exchange to launch the nine funds Dec. 22, 1998. Shares of the funds trade as part of the Amex’s Index Share Marketplace. Amex also trades options on shares of Select Sector SPDR Funds. Each Select Sector SPDR fund is designed to track the price performance and dividend yield net of expenses of a particular Select Sector index. The nine sectors are basic industries, consumer services, consumer staples, cyclical/transportation, energy, financial, industrial, technology and utilities.