The value of an index futures contract is calculated differently from other futures contracts. That's because an index is two steps removed from the commodity. Instead of dollars per yen or tons of soybeans per dollar, U.S. indexes are valued by multiplying a fixed dollar amount times the current value of the index. A DJIA index contract, for example, is valued at $10 times its current value. So, for example, a March DJIA contract is worth 10,650 x $10 = $106,500.
Interest rate futures contracts differ from other contracts in that their value is figured as percentage points, or in the case of U.S. and U.K. bonds, in 32nds to correspond to the way changes in value are measured in the bonds themselves. For U.S. Treasury bills, and for Eurodollars, the tables report yield and changes in yield rather than lifetime highs and lows.
