The CBOT's mini-Dow contract is a leading investment vehicle for hedging equity risk. The mini-Dow contract trades exclusively on the exchange's electronic platform, which features cutting-edge technology, speed and reliability and attracts sophisticated users every day.
On March 11, the CBOT's entire Dow complex traded a record of 200,056 contracts, up 79 percent from the prior record of 111,726 contracts set on March 5. The mini-sized Dow Jones options contracts, whose exchange fees are being waived through May 31, 2004, reached an open interest record of 8,805 contracts. Additionally, full-sized Dow JonesSM futures hit an open interest record of 58,442 contracts.
The CBOT Dow complex is based on the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM -- the world's most readily recognized and followed stock index -- and provides large and small investors a way to profit by taking a position based on the performance of the DJIASM , to diversify and protect their portfolios against adverse price changes in the stock market, and to preserve investment value.
