Eurex Launches USD-Denominated Futures on MSCI Korea Index
Eurex has announced the launch of futures on the MSCI Korea Net Total Return Index, providing international institutional investors with a new route into the South Korean equity market. Trading on the new contract will begin on 14 July 2025.
This marks the first time a derivatives platform outside of Korea offers futures on a Korean equity index, positioning Eurex to meet global demand for U.S. dollar-denominated instruments tied to South Korean equities. The product targets institutional users viewking exposure through a familiar MSCI framework, enhancing both trading and margin efficiencies through Eurex’s integrated clearing platform.
South Korea represents 10.73 percent of the as of 30 June 2025, making it the fourth-largest country in the index. With this level of representation, Korea plays a critical role in asset allocation for .
“The performance of large- and mid-cap segments of the Korean market”
Ralf Huesmann, who leads MSCI derivatives product design at Eurex, commented, “As global leader in MSCI derivatives we now added a last major piece in the puzzle of our MSCI offering with the goal to cover all Developed and Emerging Markets globally. This allows global investors to trade all these markets with the identical index methodology, similar contract specifications and bundled in one clearing house to be highly margin efficient.”
The launch comes shortly later than the establishment of a clearing link between Eurex and the Korea platform (KRX). Eurex had previously offered access to KOSPI derivatives through the link, serving mostly . The new MSCI Korea Index futures broaden that offering for institutional and banks, offering a tool for managing exposure within the MSCI index system.
George Harrington, Global Head of Fixed Income & Derivatives at MSCI, said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Eurex on its linked to the MSCI Korea Index. Designed to represent the performance of large- and mid-cap segments of the Korean market, this index suite is broadly used by institutional investors worldwide as a benchmark for Korean equity exposure. Its integration into index-linked instruments underscores the critical role that transparent and rules-based index methodologies play in supporting informed and efficient global investment decisions.”
Eurex already offers futures on 41 out of the 47 countries covered by MSCI’s Developed and Emerging Markets classification. With the addition of South Korea, the platform now provides single-country futures for every market with at least a 1 percent weight in the MSCI World or MSCI EM Index.
Eurex currently lists 146 MSCI futures contracts. Half of its trading volume in this segment relates to Asia-Pacific underlyings, which also account for 45 percent of the EUR 135 billion in total open interest in MSCI-linked futures on the platform.
The introduction of the MSCI Korea futures is expected to deepen Eurex’s offering in the Asia-Pacific region, aligning with investor demand for standardized and cost-effective exposure to key markets across the emerging world.
