NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced plans Tuesday to launch a range of domestic and international stock index contracts on its nascent U.S. futures platform.

The move is the first outside the metals contracts now traded on the NYSE Liffe U.S. unit, with futures based on MSCI Inc. (MXB) indexes.

Equity index futures have been among the most resilient listed products during the sharp slowdown in exchange volume over the past year.

CME Group Inc. (CME) trades products based on the S&P and Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes while IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) landed the Russell 2000 suite of products last fall.

The new NYSE Liffe U.S futures, set to begin trading in the third quarter, will link to MSCI's benchmarks for U.S. and European equity markets, as well as indexes tracking Brazil, Russia, India, China and emerging markets.

NYSE Liffe U.S. launched in September 2008 with gold and silver derivatives acquired from CME.

In April, the exchange launched an incentive program seeking to tie the precious metals futures to exchange-traded funds on the NYSE Arca platform in a bid to boost volume.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com