What is the difference between Dow and Dow Futures?

The Dow is the actual calculated index price based on the prices of the various stocks that make up the index.

The Futures are a calculated based on short-term futures contracts (think: speculation based on what people think the Dow will do, and they have bought futures/options that reflect their views).

Thanks Donald for the depression.

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They’re closed because of the time difference between eastern and western hemispheres. It’s a different day entirely in Australia and other places.

The futures contract is a promise to deliver the basket of stocks in the index at settlement; settlement is the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. There are futures available to trade on the next four expiration Fridays.

The nearest term contract is followed most closely and trades the most, because it gives an indication f how prices will move in the very near term. Futures contracts with more time to expiration have time premium added in to the pricing.

In addition to the Dow Jones Industrial, there are futures on the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, the other Dow indices, and the Russell 2000. All of those indices also have index options on them and also ETFs comprised of the same basket of stocks. There are also options on all those ETFs.