The New York Stock Exchange Enters Agreement with MSCI to Become the U.S. Options Listing Venue for Benchmark Indexes in Early 2026

Key Terms

options financial

Options are contracts that give investors the right to buy or sell an asset at a specific price within a certain time frame. They function like a reservation or a ticket that allows for potential profit or protection against price changes, making them useful tools for managing investment risks or speculating on market movements.

futures financial

A futures contract is a standardized agreement to buy or sell an asset (like a commodity, currency, or stock index) at a fixed price on a specific future date. Think of it like locking in the price of a house today for a move-in years from now: it lets buyers and sellers protect themselves against price swings or bet on which way prices will move. For investors, futures matter because they provide a cheap way to manage risk, amplify returns through leverage, and signal market expectations that can move cash prices.

index options financial

Index options are contracts that give investors the choice to buy or sell a group of stocks, called an index, at a set price before a certain date. They are useful for managing risk or making bets on the overall market’s direction, much like placing a bet on whether the entire sports team will win or lose.

notional open interest financial

Notional open interest is the total value of all active contracts in a financial market, calculated by multiplying the number of contracts by their individual size or value. It indicates how much money is at stake in ongoing trades, helping investors gauge market activity and potential risk. Higher notional open interest generally signals greater market participation and liquidity.

derivatives financial

Derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends on the price or performance of another asset, such as a stock, bond, commodity, currency or interest rate. Investors use them to hedge against risk, to speculate on future price moves, or to gain exposure without owning the asset — like buying insurance or placing a leveraged bet — so they can both protect portfolios and magnify gains or losses, affecting risk and market liquidity.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The New York Stock Exchange, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced an agreement with MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, for the NYSE to become the U.S. options listings venue for benchmark MSCI indexes in early 2026, pending regulatory approval.

Options on MSCI indexes will be listed on NYSE Arca and NYSE American options markets, including the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, MSCI EAFE Index, MSCI ACWI Index, MSCI World Index, and MSCI USA Index.

MSCI and ICE share a decades-long partnership built on innovation and trust. Since ICE launched futures based on MSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI EAFE indexes 16 years ago, its contracts are ranked in the top 10 index futures globally by notional open interest and provide a liquid set of tools for market participants to manage equity risk.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with MSCI by listing cash settled index options on NYSE Exchanges,” said Jon Herrick, Chief Product Officer, NYSE Group. “By working with MSCI to broaden the product offering while improving cross-product capital efficiencies, we look forward to enhancing the risk management capabilities offered to global investors with assets tracking these important benchmarks.”

"The expansion of our partnership with ICE to include MSCI-linked options marks an important development for our clients and the broader market," said George Harrington, Global Head of Fixed Income & Derivatives, MSCI. “Bringing both MSCI futures and options under the ICE umbrella reflects our commitment to provide more integrated solutions that support the evolving needs of global investors.”

ICE is home to the most liquid markets to trade futures on the benchmark MSCI EAFE, MSCI Emerging Markets, MSCI ACWI, MSCI Selection, and MSCI Climate indexes with ICE accounting for more than 70% of global MSCI Futures trading by volume. In 2025, average daily volume for ICE’s MSCI derivatives complex was equal to approximately $19.5 billion of notional value.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges -- including the New York Stock Exchange -- and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines, and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.

Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the SEC on February 6, 2025.

Category: NYSE

Source: Intercontinental Exchange

ICE-CORP

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260107815999/en/

NYSE Media Contact:

Kearney Ferguson

kearney.ferguson@nyse.com

+1 (212) 656-2369

ICE Investor Contact:

Katia Gonzalez

katia.gonzalez@ice.com

+1 (678) 981-3882

Source: Intercontinental Exchange